"It is my right to get good quality healthcare!"

If I cannot get the healthcare I need, it makes me feel like I’m not part of society.

People with a learning disability like me might have different support needs, but we are still entitled to good healthcare. Reasonable adjustments are a really important way of making sure people can receive and understand the health support they’re getting.  

A reasonable adjustment is a right that you have as a patient to ask for things that will help you, It could be having a supporter come along to a doctor's appointment with you, or having some extra time for your appointment so you can have things explained more slowly in a way that works for you.  It could even be getting accessible information to help you understand what you need to do to manage your health.

That’s why I’m pleased that I am on the learning disability register with my GP. Being on the learning disability register lets my doctor and other healthcare staff know the kind of support I need when I visit.

People with a learning disability need clear information to understand things better. 

I find it hard to understand the big medical words and other things doctors talk about, but it’s important information that can affect my life, so I need to understand what they’re saying. So having more time in an appointment means they can take their time to explain things and I can make sure I understand.

Being on the register also has other benefits for me. I can get an annual health check to keep an eye on things and help me manage health conditions. I can also get a health action plan that tells me about what I can do to stay healthy and who I can go to for help with this.  

I know that not everyone with a learning disability is on the learning disability register, but I think it is a really important thing for people to join. Mencap has a lot more information about it and how you can sign up for it on the Mencap website.

As an organisation , Mencap wants all the political parties to promise to improve healthcare for people with a learning disability – it would make me and other people feel a lot more heard and included. We know that poor healthcare leads to many deaths that do not need to happen.  

Research shows that 42% of the deaths of people with a learning disability were avoidable, and on average people with a learning disability die roughly 20 years younger than the rest of the population.

It’s important to make any improvements happen properly, so the government needs to make sure there is enough money to do this and save lives.

Mencap also wants to make sure that healthcare workers take part in The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism, to help them in their job by giving them the skills and more awareness of treating people with a learning disability or autism who are in their care.

It is my right to get good quality healthcare, and I will be working hard to see things get better and better for me, and everyone else with a learning disability in the UK.