‘Insufficient’ national response to deaths review programme, report finds

The latest annual report into the deaths of people with learning disabilities has criticised the “insufficient” national response to past recommendations and called for “urgent” policy changes.

The national learning disabilities mortality review programme has criticised the response from national health bodies to its previous recommendations.

To date, just over 7,000 deaths have been notified to the programme and reviews have been completed for just 45%.

There have been four annual reports for programme to date, and in the latest published today, the authors warned: “The response to these recommendations has been insufficient and we have not seen the sea change required to reassure [families] that early deaths are being prevented."

“It is long over-due that we should now have concerted national-level policy change in response to the issues raised in this report and previous others. A commitment to take forward the recommendations in a meaningful and determined way is urgently required.”

The latest report also warns that black, Asian and ethnic minority children with learning disabilities die “disproportionately” younger compared to other ethnicities.

It also found system problems and gaps in service provision were more likely to contribute to deaths in BAME people with learning disabilities. 

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Source: HSJ, 16 July 2020