Our work to clear elective care waiting lists for people with a learning disability has been praised by NHS England, and highlighted in an article by Learning Disability Today.

The article outlines a range of initiatives to ensure equitable access, experience and outcomes for people with a learning disability at CHFT.

We care for around 3,000 patients with a learning disability, from a local population of around 440,000 people. In 2021, 77 patients were on the waiting list and all have now received their planned care.    

The article highlights a number of tools and initiatives to identify people with learning disabilities and understand their experiences, including:

• A flagging system within patient records, a learning disabilities data dashboard, and a data model offering comparisons against the general population.
• Dedicated sessions on all aspects of living with a learning disability were delivered to the board, and an enhanced task and finish group was established to advance learning disability priorities within the Trust with support from those with lived experience.
• Having Learning Disability champions, easy-read training for project managers, plus Makaton training sessions
• Carrying out a deep dive into patient journeys from point of referral to treatment and reviewed the reasonable adjustments made by the trust, cancer data and missed appointments.
• Reviewing information on readmissions, length of stay and mortality for people with a learning disability.
• Developing an inpatient standard operating procedure for adults with a learning disability and a pilot outpatient template for children and young people.

You can read the full article here.