Learning Disabilities

Introduction

The "Valuing People" (Dept of Health, 2001) definition of learning disability includes the presence of:

• • A significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (impaired intelligence) with:

• • • A reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning)
    • This started before adulthood, with a lasting effect on development

This definition encompasses people with a broad range of disabilities. The presence of a low intelligence quotient is not, of itself, a sufficient reason for deciding whether an individual should be provided with additional health and social care support. An assessment of social functioning and communication skills should also be taken into account when determining need.

The term 'Learning disability' does not include all those who have a 'learning difficulty' which is more broadly defined in education legislation.

Facts and Figures

Key points from the learning disabilities profile presented in Figure 1:

• Blackpool has a significantly higher prevalence of adults with learning disabilities receiving long term support from the local authority compared to England as a whole (4.14 per 1,000 compared to 3.38 per 1,000 nationally)
• The proportion of eligible adults with learning disabilities who have had a GP health check in Blackpool is lower, but not significantly different to the England average (42.5% compared to 51.7%)
• In Blackpool 92.7% of supported adults with learning disability live in settled accommodation, significantly higher than the proportion in England as a whole

Figure 1 - Public Health England Learning Disabilities Profile

Population

Health

Accommodation and Social Care

Coordination and Local Planning

Source: Public Health England - Learning Disabilities Profile

Population projections of the number of people predicted to have learning difficulties in future are shown in Figures 2 - 5. This shows that the number of adults under the age of 65 predicted to have a learning difficulty is expected to fall gradually as the total population in this age group falls over the next 25 years. The number of adults aged over 65 with a learning difficulty is predicted to rise over the period, in-line with the raise in the overall population of older adults. Figure 4 estimates, in 2019,  there were 450 people aged 18-64 living in Blackpool who had a learning disability that required the support of local services.

National and local strategies

• • Building the Right Support (NHS England/LGA, 2015) - A new national plan that outlines a clear timetable to re-design community services across England
  • Supporting people with a learning disability and/or autism who display behaviour that challenges, including those with a mental health condition (Service Model) (NHS England/LGA, 2015) - A guide for commissioners that defines what good services should look like

Recommendations

NHS England has recommends a focus on four key areas to reduce the health inequalities suffered by people with learning disabilities:

• • Increasing the take-up of routine health checks
  • Ensuring joint working across health and care, using the Self-Assessment Framework (SAF)
  • Understanding the causes of premature mortality through a new national National Mortality Review Function, to improve life expectancy
  • Working with the regulator to ensure all health services that are used by people with learning disabilities, are monitored and part of the inspection routine