Immediate action should be taken to
make it easier for people with a learning disability to get the
tailored health checks and preventive care they need to stay
well, a think tank has warned today.
A new report from the Nuffield Trust highlights
existing data showing a 20-year gap in median age at death
between people with and without a learning disability and that
two-in-five deaths of people with a learning disability in 2022
were classified as avoidable compared to one-in-five deaths for
the general population.
The Nuffield Trust's analysis of the latest NHS data points to a
36-percentage point gap in the screening rate for cervical
cancer; that young people aged 18 to 24 with a learning
disability have double the prevalence of obesity (31% with a
learning disability compared to 16% without); and that 22% of
people with a learning disability are being treated with
antidepressants compared to 11% of people without a learning
disability.
The authors show that
people with learning disabilities are missing out on potentially
life-saving preventive healthcare because services are
disjointed, information and communication is not well-suited to
them, and healthcare professionals lack knowledge about how to
adapt services for people with a learning disability. Currently
only 1 in 4 people with a learning disability are on the GP
learning disability register, which the think tank says is
creating significant barriers to many of them accessing
preventive care and spotting health problems, like cancer,
early.
To turn the tide on this
issue, NHS England needs to improve access to and the quality of
annual health checks across the country;
integrated care boards should
organise targeted information campaigns to encourage people to
join the learning disability register; and
local authorities should provide
weight management programmes specifically tailored for people
with a learning disability. The number of health and social care
staff working in care coordination roles also needs to
increase.
Preventing people with a
learning disability from dying too young pulls together
data across preventive care
such as prevention of obesity; cancer screening; addressing
mental health problems; annual health checks; and early diagnosis
for the first time. It finds clear evidence that this group are
not always able to get equitable preventive
support:
-
In 2022-23, just over half of people
with a learning disability who were eligible for bowel cancer
screening had the test compared to two-thirds of eligible
people without a learning disability. There has also consistently been a 15 percentage-point
difference in breast cancer screening rates between people with
a learning disability and the rest of the population.
Data from 2017-19 also shows that
35% of individuals with a learning disability who died with
cancer had their cancer identified at an emergency presentation
at hospital.
-
People with a learning disability
are more likely to be obese, particularly in teenage years and
in young adulthood, and in 2022-23 an average of 7.5% had an
active diagnosis of type 2 diabetes compared with 5.1% of
people without a learning
disability.
-
Despite a higher prevalence of
mental health problems in people with a learning disability
they are less likely to be referred for talking therapies than
those without a learning disability, and they generally have
poorer recovery rates.
-
More than 30,000 adults with a
learning disability are taking psychotropic medicines when they
do not have a diagnosis of the conditions the medicines are
prescribed for.
Nuffield Trust Fellow Jessica Morris
said:
"It’s appalling that so
many people with a learning disability are dying too young and
from preventable causes, but it doesn't have to be this
way.
“We will not begin to
improve access to services for people with a learning disability
unless access to much needed preventive health services becomes
less disjointed and adjustments are made to make services as
accessible as they are for everyone else.
Ultimately, people with a learning
disability need access to timely and effective healthcare, where
care is well coordinated, and signs and symptoms of illness are
picked up early.
“While our research has
focused on some major areas of healthcare for people with
learning disabilities, there is much more work to be done to
understand and change the inequitable health outcomes they are
experiencing.”
Ends.
Notes to Editors
-
The report explores preventive
health care for people with a learning disability and their
ability to access effective health and care services across
five key areas: prevention of obesity; cancer screening; annual
health checks; addressing mental health problems; and early
diagnosis
- For this research Nuffield Trust researchers carried out a
rapid literature search, reviewed policy and analysed published
data relating to preventive health care and access to effective
health and care services for people with a learning disability.
They also held a roundtable with key stakeholders to inform this
report, including people with lived experience
- The report will be published alongside an easy-read summary on the
Nuffield Trust website at 0001 on Wednesday.
