The healthcare needs of people with learning disabilities have been well covered in the literature. The recent confidential inquiry into premature deaths found delays or problems with diagnosis or treatment and problems with providing appropriate care in response to changing needs. Annual health checks have been shown to be effective in identifying previously unknown health [read the full story…]
People with Down syndrome are more likely to develop dementia than those without and indeed this is more likely to occur at an earlier age, where clinical symptoms can occur when people are in their late 40s or early 50s. There is also some evidence that there are some differences in clinical symptoms in people [read the full story…]
We recently posted about the publication of the final report of the confidential inquiry into premature deaths in people with learning disabilities. The Inquiry found 43% of the deaths of people with learning disabilities were unexpected and for a substantial number, there was significant difficulty or delay in diagnosis, investigation or specialist referral. The Inquiry [read the full story…]
Studies have shown that women with learning disabilities are less likely than those without disabilities to have access to cervical and breast cancer screening services as set out in the relevant clinical guidelines. The team at Improving Health and Lives, the learning disabilities public health observatory (LDPHO) reported that reasonable adjustments were not being made [read the full story…]
As more and more people with learning disabilities are accessing ordinary community services and using individual budgets to purchase their own support there is a need to produce good accessible materials. To respond to this challenge, BILD, the British Institute of Learning Disabilities have recently published a range of materials, including written guides and DVDs [read the full story…]
Last week, we featured a guest blog from our sister site the Mental Elf which looked at the findings of a study based on the British Crime Survey which found that people with disability are at increased risk of being victims of domestic and non-domestic violence and suggested the need for an urgent assessment national [read the full story…]
The Confidential Inquiry into premature deaths in people with learning disabilities (CIPOLD) was commissioned by the Secretary of State for Health as a result of a recommendation by Jonathan Michael in ‘Healthcare for All’ the report of the Independent Inquiry into access to healthcare for people with learning disabilities. The Confidential Inquiry team were charged [read the full story…]
For many mums-to-be it is advised that taking regular folic acid supplements during pregnancy, and whilst trying to conceive, has significant health benefits for their unborn baby, namely around reducing the risk of neural tube defects such as spina bifida (NHS, 2013). However, do these supplements also affect the risk of the unborn baby developing [read the full story…]
In the UK over 10 million people live with a disability, many of whom suffer from violence (Department for Working Pensions, 2011). A recent World Report on Disability by WHO (2011) highlighted that people living with disabilities are at risk from sexual and physical violence. Despite this, little is known about who is at risk [read the full story…]
Access to information about pregnancy is crucial for parents to be. For people with learning disabilities, faced with a variety of new choices to make, this is especially true. However, there is little information currently available about pregnancy for people with learning disabilities. As the number of women with learning disabilities becoming pregnant increases, it [read the full story…]
