Further to our feature article on Learning Disability, Health and Obesity , and specifically our  reporting on Public Health England events in August and October.  Speakers from Public Health England (PHE) were keen to emphasise that people with learning disabilities and/or autism should be able to access those services from the NHS to which they are entitled (e.g. annual heath checks, flu vaccinations, eye tests etc.); and that they and their carers should expect NHS staff to make reasonable adjustments in order to provide those services.

PHE has now (Oct 11th 2018) published a ‘Collection of Guides to Reasonable Adjustments’ on GOV.UK. The webpage is entitled ‘Reasonable adjustments for people with a learning disability‘. This centralisation of available information seems an eminently sensible thing to have done, at last!

The webpage should prove an excellent resource. Please take a look if you need to know which reasonable adjustments are available.

Note that there are also easy-read versions documents available. From experience I know that it can be difficult to explain medical procedures to someone with a learning disability and/or autism; the easy-read material may help.

For information, these are the document titles collated within the resource. Please look at any which seems relevant:

1) Reasonable adjustments: a legal duty
2) Annual health checks and people with learning disabilities
3) Blood tests and people with learning disabilities
4) Cancer screening and people with learning disabilities
5) Constipation and people with learning disabilities
6) Dementia and people with learning disabilities
7) Dysphagia and people with learning disabilities
8) Obesity, weight management and people with learning disabilities
9) Pharmacy and people with learning disabilities
10) Postural care services and people with learning disabilities
11) Substance misuse and people with learning disabilities