I think (know) that we have said this before: They do things differently in the Netherlands (and usually it seems for the better).

According to this recent article in the Guardian the first doctor specialising in profound and multiple learning disabilities is due to be appointed in the UK later this year, following a Dutch precedent.

Read the article. It is not very long and contains some jaw-dropping observations on specialised care in the UK.

Regrettably those observations come as no surprise, but can still shock:

Note that there are criticisms of the concept of specialist PNLD doctors, and of their effectiveness, especially if  they were not  to be accorded adequate professional status and clinical authority. And as ever in current economic circumstances, there are worries about cost effectiveness, given the probable cost of specialised training, and the existence of alternative models of care centred on Learning Disability Nurses.

I just wonder if the viability of the concept will ever be proved from available evidence, if only one such such clinician is ever appointed.