Anna has a learning disability and autism and wants to see better awareness in GP practices of the learning disability register , annual health checks and health passports.  

She said: ‘I only found out about the learning disability register a few years ago when there was a leaflet at work on the noticeboard and I asked someone about it, and how to get it.

‘They told me there was a form and so I got my mum and dad to go through it, and then submitted it. But I only found out about by chance – unless you ask about it you wouldn’t know about it.

‘I often speak to healthcare workers who’ve never heard about the learning disability register, health passports or other reasonable adjustments.  

‘And I’d never known about getting a health action plan or even seen one. If it was in easy read and it was accessible that way, I’d be interested in one.’

Anna gets an annual health check and finds them helpful but struggled to get an appointment last year due to an oversight of her patient notes by a surgery nurse.  

She said: ‘I didn’t get last year’s health check until February this year as it was very difficult to communicate with learning disability nurse – she kept ringing me even though the notes say on my doctor record to text.

‘We really need to make health and social care better and make things easier and more accessible for people like me.’