Working together to improve the lives of people with learning disabilities - our Learning Disabilities Challenge
Our Partnership has 10 Big Ambitions and one of those is to reduce the gap in life expectancy for autistic and other neurodiverse people, people with learning disabilities and people with mental health conditions by 10% by 2024. Achieving this ambition will make life better for more than 200 000 people living in West Yorkshire.
We want everyone with a learning disability who lives in West Yorkshire to have the same opportunities as everyone else. We want people to live long and healthy lives and be treated with dignity and respect. We think it is important for people to have good relationships with others. We want everyone to have a place they call home in their community.
Nationally, there has been an increase in the number of children and young people with a learning disability being identified within mental health hospital trusts. Across West Yorkshire we have seen a similar increase in children and young people with a learning disability and / or autism entering specialist mental hospital services.
Our health system is responsive to improving the health inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities. We believe that it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure people with learning disabilities will be as healthy as they can be. We intend that people with learning disabilities will experience the best possible health care and have improved outcomes from their health services. Our Learning Disabilities Challenge is the programme that will drive this aim. You can read a news release about our aims here.
These easy read documents are a way of helping people with an learning disability, or their carers, to be more proactive in their care and to better understand their early warning signs of deterioration and know when to escalate / seek further advice, care and treatment.
Our objectives – how we will know that we have improved health and wellbeing for people with learning disabilities:
- People with learning disabilities who live in West Yorkshire will live longer, healthier lives.
- People with learning disabilities will have better patient experiences and better outcomes.
- Our health and care services will be regarded as an example of best practice in how it promotes the health needs of people with learning disabilities.
Our mandate – what we will do
Voluntary and Community Social Enterprises (VCSE), social care, Primary Care Networks (PCNs) and Acute Trusts will take a lead role in ensuring people with learning disabilities are reached out to and supported to take up their annual health checks and screening checks.
We will involve families in developing, sourcing and delivering training and awareness-raising, to ensure all services can support people with learning disabilities well.
We will involve our active VCSE sector and people with lived experience to shape and support our delivery plan. Our communication plan will promote the contributions people with learning disabilities give to their communities. We work with our Learning Disability Health and Care Champions to make sure that their knowledge and experience is used as our Programmes develop their services and projects. You can find out more about the work of the Champions on their page.
We will have trusted and robust data relating to people with learning disabilities, from all service areas within our health and care system.
Start well - supporting Children and Young People with Learning disabilities and / or Autism
You can find resources for children, young people, their parents, carers and the professionals who look after them on our Start Well page.
Living well with Learning Disabilities
We have collected resources from across our West Yorkshire Partnership that are useful for people with Learning Disabilities on our Live Well page.
Ageing well with Learning Disabilities
Older people with Learning Disabilities have particular needs. We have some resources that reflect those needs on our Age Well page.
Working with people with Learning Disabilities
Working with people with Learning Disabilities is a rewarding and varied career. Amanda McKie, Consultant Nurse for Learning Disabilities at Calderdale and Huddersfield Foundation Trust has shared her years of experience of working with people who have learning disabilities and how it has changed her life. Read Amanda’s blog.
You can find out more about some of the roles here.
The development of the Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag on the NHS spine holds huge potential for improving health outcomes for people with learning disabilities and autism, and potentially saving lives. Following publication of an Information Standard Notice in 2023, organisations are preparing for implementation by 31 March 2024.
Click here to find out more about Reasonable Adjustments together with resources.
The Learning Disability Mortality Review (LeDeR) - Learning from Lives and Deaths
You can visit the Partnership's LeDeR webpage for more information.
