Mencap welcomes Government mandate to NHS Commissioning Board

Tuesday 13 November 2012

Today the Government launched its mandate to the NHS Commissioning Board to improve the health and wellbeing of the nation.

They have identified two key government objectives that for the first time specifically mention people with learning disabilities: to ensure people have a positive experience of care and to prevent people dying prematurely. 

These are urgent priorities. Mencap statistics show that people with a learning disability are 58 times more likely to die before the age of 50 and four times as many people with a learning disability die of preventable causes than the general population.

Following Mencap and the Challenging Behaviour Foundations’ lobbying over the abuse suffered by people while they were at Winterbourne View, the charity welcomes the Board objective to ensure clinical commissioning groups “work with local authorities to ensure that vulnerable people, particularly those with learning disability and autism, receive safe, appropriate, high quality care.”

Emma Harrison, Assistant Director at Mencap said:

We are particularly delighted that the Department of Health has recognised that, where possible, services are local and that people remain in their communities. While much still remains to be done to improve health outcomes for people with learning disabilities, Mencap feels this is a big step forward.

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Notes to editors

For further information or for an interview with Emma Harrison, please contact:

Elly Button, Senior PR Manager, on 020 7696 6937 or Elly.Button@mencap.org.uk

About Mencap

Mencap is the voice of learning disability. Everything we do is about supporting people with a learning disability, and their families and carers. We work to improve services, challenge prejudice and directly support thousands of people to live their lives as they choose.

www.mencap.org.uk