Helpdesk
People with Learning Disabilities experience a range of health inequalities including those related to both physical and mental health.
NES Learning Disabilities team will continue to review and update this page as required.
Some of the below links and resources will direct you to information sources that are external to NES. These have not been created by NES and have been included for your information only. The inclusion of these sources is not as a recommendation or an endorsement of the associated content.
General Information
NES resources can be found under the Essential's of LD section on this website.
External Resources
NHS 24- Video Right Care Right Place- helping you to find the right care.
NHS 24 - Easy Read Leaflet Helping you find the right care
NES Learning Bytes
Improving Healthcare Access and Experiences for People with Learning Disabilities
and
Supporting the healthcare Needs of People with Learning Disabilities in Hospital
You will need to sign in to Turas Learn to access both of these resources which are available below.
If you don't have a Turas account click here to register. Turas is free and anyone can sign up using their email address.
NES Module- This learning byte describes the health needs of people with learning disabilities and how to improve access to healthcare screening or treatment using reasonable adjustments and trauma informed approaches.
NES Module- This module will support staff in acute or other hospital settings to understand, identify and respond to the communication and physical health care needs of people with learning disabilities.
Your Posture Matters is our NHS Education for Scotland page on postural care and the protection of body shape. There are an exceptionally high number of people who have a learning disability who also have health needs around maintaining and protecting body shape.
Delayed Discharge and Complex Care
People who have a learning disability have been identified as a section of the population who are more likely to experience delayed discharge and out of area placements. While the reasons for this are manifold, the following reports make recommendations to reduce the number of delayed discharges and out of area placements nationally.
The report from the working group into Delayed Discharge and Complex Care which makes recommendations of actions to be taken at national and local levels to reduce the number of delayed discharges and out-of-area placements for people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.
Coming Home Implementation: report from the Working Group on Complex Care and Delayed Discharge (Link)
Postivie Behaviour Support
The Coming Home report (2018) recommended building a workforce competent in PBS as a critical step to improve support services to individuals with learning disabilities, and PBS training is a key element in achieving this.
NES Positive Behaviour Support page (link)
People with Learning Disabilities experience inequalities in relation to Mental Health. NES resources can be found within the Psychological Care and Trauma section of this website, and within the Essentials of LD.
External Resources
Bereavement and Loss
Garvald Edinburgh- Life, Death and Lilies (Opens in a new Window)
Even though people with Learning Disabilities are living longer and will often experience the death of family and friends, conversations around death are often avoided. This can be for many reasons: lack of confidence in how to approach the topic, the fear of upsetting individuals or a desire to shield people from pain. Research and, more importantly, individuals themselves have told us of their desire, need and ability to have conversations related to death, dying, bereavement and loss. Life, Death and Lilies explores this topic.
Published Work
Bone Health
Many people who have learning disabilities are at increased risk of developing osteoporosis. This means that bone strength and bone health will be reduced and as a result individuals are likely to be at increased risk of fractures.
Although the reasons for this vary depending on the individual, some common causes include
Published Articles
Article- Walsh, N., Barr, O., Lang, D., Currid, M., & Hoey, C. (2022). Peripheral bone density measurement: An interdisciplinary initiative for improving health outcomes for people with learning disabilities. Journal of Intellectual Disabilities, 26(1), 18-28. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744629520950136
Article- Incidence of fractures in people with intellectual disabilities over the life course: a retrospective matched cohort study
Resources relevant to Cancer and Cancer Screening
Guidelines Relating to Diabetes
Diabetes- International Consensus Guidelines: Reasonable Adjustments in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes in Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (Extenal Link)