Dan Scorer, Head of Policy at the learning disability charity Mencap, said:
“It’s incredibly worrying to see operations being cancelled and waiting lists at record levels, particularly for people with a learning disability who faced serious barriers accessing healthcare even before COVID. Before the pandemic, people with a learning disability were already twice as likely to die avoidably and died far younger than the general population. Earlier this year one hospital trust decided to prioritise people with a learning disability for elective treatment after analysis showed they were disproportionately affected by lengthy waits for care. We urge other trusts to follow their lead, which could be done through using the GP Learning Disability Register
The learning disability register is a list of people with a learning disability that the doctor’s surgery looks after. which we are encouraging everyone with a learning disability to join.
“COVID has shown us that health inequalities can no longer be ignored. It must be the wake-up call needed to address the shocking levels of avoidable and premature death that people with a learning disability continue to face.”
-ENDS-
For further information or to arrange an
interview
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with a Mencap
spokesperson
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organisation
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.
or
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, please contact Mencap’s media team on: media@mencap.org.uk or 020 7696 5414 (including out of hours).
Notes to editors:
About Mencap
There are approximately 1.5 million people with a learning disability in the UK. Mencap works to support people with a learning disability, their families and carers by fighting to change laws, improve services and access to
education
Education is when you learn things. When you fill in a form to get a job, education means you write where you went to school, college or university.
,
employment
Employment means having a job.
and
leisure
Leisure is when you have time to do things you enjoy like playing sports or going to the pub.
facilities. Mencap supports thousands of people with a learning disability to live their lives the way they want: www.mencap.org.uk
For advice and information about learning disability and Mencap services in your area, contact Mencap’s Freephone Learning Disability Helpline on 0808 808 1111 (10am-3pm, Monday-Friday) or email helpline@mencap.org.uk.
What is a learning disability?
- A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability which can cause problems with everyday tasks – for example shopping and cooking, or travelling to new places – which affects someone for their whole life;
- Learning disability is NOT a mental illness or a learning difficulty, such as
dyslexia
Dyslexia is a learning difficulty. People who have dyslexia can find it hard to read, write and spell.
. Very often the term ‘learning difficulty’ is wrongly used interchangeably with ‘learning disability’; - People with a learning disability can take longer to learn new things and may need support to develop new skills, understand difficult information and engage with other people. The level of support someone needs is different with every individual. For example, someone with a severe learning disability might need much more support with daily tasks than someone with a mild learning disability.