Lack of learning-disability nurses in UK is an ‘absolute crisis’, says union

The specialist learning-disability nurse workforce is in “absolute crisis” with the number of specialist nurses falling by a third across the UK since 2009, leaving many vulnerable adults with inadequate care, according to a report by the largest nursing union.

The Royal College of Nursing review revealed that the number of learning-disability nurses employed by the NHS has fallen from 7,083 in 2009 to 4,768 in 2026. As a result of these falling numbers, 1.5 million people with learning disabilities were not being provided with their legal right to equitable access to health and care services.

This failure in care has mainly been attributed to the chronic lack of specialist learning-disability nurses available across the UK, with this gap expected to widen in the coming years. Only 490 learning-disability nursing students had chosen to study the specialism in the UK, according to the analysis. This was a 40% reduction over the past decade in the number of students accepted on to these courses.

Prof Lynn Woolsey, the Royal College of Nursing’s chief officer, said the review’s findings were a “warning that we cannot continue this path where learning-disability nursing is consistently undermined”.

“The learning-disability nurse workforce is in absolute crisis, with workforce numbers falling while university student numbers also collapse. Their skills are too vital for this to be allowed to continue,” Woolsey said.

She added: “The expertise of learning-disability nurses has been poorly understood, inconsistently recognised, and insufficiently protected within health and care systems. Their contribution is repeatedly undermined and ignored in wide workforce planning and service delivery.”

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Source: The Guardian, 16 June 2026

Further reading on the hub:

• Top picks: Breaking down the barriers faced by people with learning disabilities