Care of Patients with Learning Disabilities

There are 1.5 million people living with a learning diability in the UK.

People living with a learning disability can experience an increase of health conditions which include:

epilepsy
dementia
respiratory conditions and
coronary heart disease.

People living with a learning disability are at an increased risk of dementia, particularly for those people with Down’s Syndrome.

They are more likely to experience severe mental illness and have higher rates of:

epilepsy
multimorbidity
complexity
polypharmacy and
greater likelihood of adverse events from incompatible interventions

In our bid to ensure that every patient living with a learning disability receives the best care, Coleridge Medical Centre conducts an annual health check on all eligible patients.

Our learning disability lead within the Practice is nurse Emma Blake, who implemented the learning disability booklet within the Practice. This allows patients to communicate their healthcare needs independently, and records vital data which they can take to their next appointment.

Coleridge Medical Centre has an easy read learning disability leaflet for patients which provides information on what they can expect from their annual health check appointment

Mencap

Mencap visualise a world where people with a learning disability are valued equally, listened to and included.

They are here to improve the lives of people with a learning disability and their families, and fight alongside them for a better future.

Mencap want more people with a learning disability to have real jobs in the open labour market, and for more employers to know that people with a learning disability make good workers when supported properly.

Telephone: 0808 808 1111

Email: helpline@mencap.org.uk

Website: mencap.org.uk

Mind - Learning Disability Support

A learning disability is not a mental health problem. But people with learning disabilities may also experience mental health problems. There are lots of different reasons for this.

For example, you may:

face negative attitudes from other people
experience negative life events such asabuse

These attitudes and experiences can affect your mental health.

Sometimes, people with a learning disability struggle to get a diagnosis for a mental health problem. This is because doctors may think your mental health symptoms are part of your learning disability.

Website: Mind - Learning Disability Support