Avoidable deaths of people with learning disabilities: The statistics that shame our civilised society (5 December 2023)

Summary

In this article for the Byline Times, Saba Salman highlights the results of the latest NHS-funded annual review of deaths among people with learning disabilities. The report lays bare how people with learning disabilities are less likely to survive health problems that are preventable and treatable than those without learning disabilities. Researchers at King’s College London, the University of Central Lancashire and Kingston University London reviewed the deaths of 3,648 people with a learning disability. Overall, almost half died an avoidable death, compared to two in 10 in the general population. The median age of death in was 63 years, which is around 20 years less than for people without learning disabilities.