bridge_buildingThe NHS England’s Learning Disability Engagement Team was established, or possibly ‘re-envigorated’, during 2015. This followed the publication in early 2015  of the report ‘Transforming Care for People with Learning Disabilities – Next Steps’ .

This document was produced jointly by NHS England, the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS), the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the Department of Health, the Health Education England (HEE), and the Local Government Association (LGA), in response to the findings of the enquiry into Winterbourne View ‘scandal’.

 

Over the years, numerous reports and research projects (e.g. CIPOLD, Mencaps’s Death by Indifference, the Ombudsman’s Six Lives: The Provision of Public Services to People with Learning Disabilities)  have repeatedly cited the failure of the NHS to treat people with learning disabilities ‘equally’.

In the Engagement Team’s own words, “Evidence has shown that people with a learning disability experience worse health than other people”. They have also experienced lower levels of health care, and higher mortality rates.

Regrettably, Rescare failed to highlight the LD Engagement Team’s launch of a series of events and meetings around the country in December 2015. These were intended to highlight the role of its Forum.  “The NHS England Forum for People with a Learning Disability and/or Autism, Families, Carers and Supporters  will input to NHS England’s work around learning disability” and “will be a network of people with a learning disability and/or autism, family carers and others supporting them”… or at least that’s the intention.

forumStill, since the Learning Disability Engagement Team now reports that it did not allow enough time for these meetings, and  did not appreciate that the parents and carers who attended would wish to speak at length on the issues raised (Not exactly a surprise!), we are sure that further consulation events will follow in 2016! Look out for them.

Also look out for announcements from your  local government and NHS authorities about Transforming Care Partnerships. These Partnerships are schedules to implement effective change  by 2019, but should be releasing their  plans for improvement in April 2016.

For more information on the Learning Disability Engagement Team, the Forum, Transforming Care Partnerships, and public consultations (usually flagged up under the tag ‘Engage!’)  go to the Learning Disability Engagement Team’s website and follow the relevant links.

Addendum: With regard to mortality rates, we have just noticed this exchange on 7th January 2016 in the Lords (Question and Written Answer) between Baroness Hollins and Lord Prior of Brampton. The Mortality Review Programme will presumably be one means of measuring the success  of the Transforming Care Partnerships, whose work will be subject to interim review in 2018.

baroness_hollinsBaroness Hollins (Crossbench)

“To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether the remit and funding of the National Learning Disabilities Mortality Review of premature deaths in people with learning disabilities includes a review of the investigations carried out by NHS Trusts into unexpected deaths for that patient group; and if not whether they intend to alter the remit.”

Lord_PriorLord Prior of Brampton (Conservative)

“The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme is managed by the University of Bristol on behalf of NHS England. The contract with the University focusses on supporting local reviews of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities; the investigation processes and draws together learning from the reviews. The remit for this work does not include a review of the investigations undertaken by NHS trusts into unexpected deaths for this patient group. There is no current intention to alter this remit.

The current programme is piloting local reviews of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities, as the first stage of rolling these out across England by 2018. These reviews will be the key first step to ensure local processes are in place to inform the co-ordination of future investigations of premature deaths of people with learning disabilities by NHS trusts. There will be clear protocols put in place to ensure that any unexpected deaths are subject to a multidisciplinary review, covering the totality of the person’s care, to assess the causes of death and any actions which could have been taken to prevent that death.

The Mortality Review Programme will provide strategic support for the local review process, develop a core data set for use by local review teams and support both the development of action plans in response to a death and the identification of recurrent themes at local, regional and national levels. The case reviews will support health and social care professionals, and others, to identify, and take action on, the avoidable contributory factors leading to premature deaths by people with learning disabilities whilst the identification of regional and national themes will inform wider action.”

JR