Mencap responds to Andrew Lansley’s announcement of a NHS Child Health Outcomes Forum

Thursday 26 January 2012

Mencap responds to Andrew Lansley’s announcement of a NHS Child Health Outcomes Forum, which was launched today.

Beverley Dawkins OBE, Mencap national officer for profound and multiple learning disability, said;

"The Health Secretary's announcement of a Child Health Outcomes forum represents a real commitment to improving the NHS for disabled children and shows that the Government has taken on board the concerns of the children's sector.

“We know from our Death by indifference report that due to institutional discrimination in the NHS many people with a learning disability do not get the care they need. We hope that this new initiative will be a positive step in improving children's health services to meet the needs of disabled children and their families. As the NHS goes through many new changes and challenges it is important that the health needs of disabled children are not forgotten.”

Notes to editors

Contact Nzinga Cotton in the Mencap media team on 020 7696 5603 or email nzinga.cotton@mencap.org.uk

About Mencap

There are 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap fights on their behalf, and on behalf of their carers and families, to change laws and improve services and access to education, employment and leisure facilities, supporting thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want.

We are also the largest service provider of services, information and advice for people with a learning disability across England, Northern Ireland and Wales. 

About learning disability

A learning disability is caused by the way the brain develops before, during or shortly after birth. It is always lifelong and affects someone's intellectual and social development. It used to be called mental handicap but this term is outdated and offensive. Learning disability is NOT a mental illness. The term learning difficulty is often incorrectly used interchangeably with learning disability.