Learning Disabilities - Resources

Introduction

In 2007 Mencap's ‘Death by Indifference' campaign highlighted the premature deaths of six young people with a learning disability whilst under NHS care. Poor communication, assumptions about quality of life and a dangerous lack of understanding by healthcare professionals meant that patients with a learning disability were getting poorer standards of care - and even dying. Several years on Mencap continue to receive reports of patients with a learning disability receiving poor treatment. People with learning disability often feel their GP and their staff do not listen them to. They struggle to master the barriers to access to care from primary care teams with lack of reasonable adjustments. These health inequalities are avoidable and likely to be in contravention of legal requirements under the Disability Discrimination Acts 1995 and 2005. The following information is guidance to support GPs and their staff care for people with a learning disability.

People with a learning disability are not getting equal access to healthcare. Its time for general practice to get it right.

Dr Matt Hoghton

RCGP Learning Disabilities Champion

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Annual Health Checks

Health screening of adults with LD registered with GPs reveals high levels of unmet physical and mental health needs. The Public Health Observatory in Learning Disabilities Systematic Review of the evidence of effectiveness of health checks 2010 http://www.improvinghealthandlives.org.uk/ showed they nearly always led to the detection of unmet, unrecognised and potentially treatable health conditions (including serious and life threatening conditions such as cancer, heart disease and dementia) and to targeted actions to address these health needs. In England the annual health checks DES were introduced in 2008 and provide financial incentives for GPs to arrange annual health checks to adults with moderate and severe learning disabilities. The number of people with learning disabilities who received an annual health check in 2009/10 (41%) almost doubled the figure for 2008/09 (23%). Despite the improved performance this still means that less than half of people with learning disabilities received an annual health check last year.

The RCGP supports the Mencap’s Getting it right campaign. Healthcare professionals need support, encouragement and guidance to make reasonable adjustments for patients with a learning disability. This guide is aimed to help Primary Care provide high quality annual checks.

Complete Guide

Full step by step guide for GP practices

1) Summary of Process for Annual Health Checks in General Practice

2) Before Each Individual Health Check

3) Pre Check Questionnaire

4) The Cardiff Health Check Questionnaire

5) The Practice Nurse’s Eole　

6) The General Practitioner’s Role

7) Health Check Action Plan Examples

8) Syndrome Specific Medical Heath Needs and Checks　

a) Down's Syndrome

b) Fragile X Syndrome

c) Rett's Syndrome

d) Williams Syndrome e

9) Mental Capacity Tools　

a) Consent Pathway

b) Best Interest Pathway

10) Sources of Information and Support

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Training

As part of the department of heath e-learning for health, e-GP has 10 modules on caring for people with learning disabilities in general practice from an introduction to the care in the community to annual health checks. The modules reflect the RCGP curriculum. Access to e-GP is available free to all UK NHS General Practitioners, GP Specialty Trainees and GP educators.

Module 14 – Learning Disabilities

GPS_14_001a	Introduction to Learning Disabilities in the Community	Matt Hoghton
GPS_14_001b	Demographic Characteristics and Hidden History of People with Learning Disabilities	Matt Hoghton
GPS_14_002	Access	Teresa Kippax
GPS_14_003	Sensory Issues in People with Learning Disabilities	Graham Martin
GPS_14_004	Effective Communication with People Who Have Learning Disabilities	Jo Corbett
GPS_14_005	Supporting and Working with the Carers of People with Learning Disabilities	Peter Lindsay
GPS_14_006	Syndromes and pathology associated with Learning Disabilities	Tom Howseman
GPS_14_008	Epilepsy in people with Learning Disabilities	Iain White
GPS_14_009	Health checks for people with learning disability	Graham Martin

Visit the e-learning portal

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RCGP Curriculum on Learning Disabilities

Dr Peter Lindsay is curriculum guardian and regularly reviews the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum for inclusion of LD subjects.

RCGP Curriculum Statement on Care

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RCGP Learning Disabilities Group

The group is chaired by Dr Jill Rasmussen and meets virtually every 2 months by telephone conference call. It aims to represent GPs from all parts of the UK to ensure the highest standards of care for people with a learning disability.

For further information please contact matt.hoghton@gp-l81040.nhs.net

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