This Learning Disability Week we’re raising awareness of the wider support available to people with learning disabilities.
Did you know that people with a learning disability sadly have worse health than people without a learning disability and are more likely to experience a number of health conditions?
On average people with a learning disability can die 20-23 years younger than someone without. 42% of deaths are avoidable too (The 2022 Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR), 2023; ONS, 2022). This can be due to a lack of knowledge or access to physical health care support.
There can be several reasons why people with learning disabilities struggle to access physical health care support. This might be lack of awareness or understanding, not enough involvement of carers or even a lack of accessible transport or facilities.
The Durham and Darlington Health Facilitation Team
The Durham and Darlington Health Facilitation Team support people with learning disabilities who use our services in the area, to stay healthy. This is by helping them to access wider health care services and by breaking down barriers to ensure people get the support they need and in a timely manner.
The team also work alongside wider primary and secondary care teams to raise awareness of unmet health needs and to provide training and support to colleagues. This includes working with acute trust staff when people are admitted to hospitals. The aim is to reduce health inequalities and to achieve the best possible outcomes for people with learning disabilities.
How we help
Joanne Miller is a Registered Community Learning Disability Nurse and works in the team. She said: “Everyone has a right to access health care provision. But for someone with a learning disability this isn’t as easy as it is for most people. The work we do is essential in reducing health inequalities. It also has the potential to reduce the number of avoidable deaths.
An important part of the Health Facilitation Team’s role is to work with people with learning disabilities and their carer’s, to help them to understand the steps they can take to stay fit and healthy. This is done through the development of a health action plan.
Health action plan
The health action plan is coproduced with people and their carer’s. The plan helps them to understand the things they need to do to stay fit and healthy. It can also be used to take along to appointments, to help other health professionals better understand their needs. This can help them to make any reasonable adjustments to support people to access essential care and treatment.
Training and more
Joanne explains: “In addition to our day-to-day work, we’ve been involved in several projects to support physical health. These include the implementation of a rolling training programme for carers, families and GPs, as well as helping colleagues to understand how to support people with life limiting conditions.”
The Health Facilitation team also provide support to those who have received bowel screening invitations. The team help them to uptake this potentially lifesaving screening. They are also working to reduce the over the medication of people with learning disabilities in line with the national STOMP campaign as well as exploring how they can help people with their sexual health and knowledge.
Joanne adds: “It really is important that health providers come together to understand the challenges people with learning disabilities face, so that we can make a change for the better.”
If you live in Durham and Darlington and think you could benefit from the support of the Health Facilitation Team, speak to your local community disability service to see how they might be able to help or ask your GP or care coordinator to make a referral for you.
