The Challenge

The lifespan of people with learning disabilities is shorter than that of people in the general population by 19.7 years. This chilling claim is supported by current evidence. Findings from health inequalities research and reviews completed for the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) programme strongly suggest there is preventable death in this population.

The challenge is how to reverse this trend and improve the life chances and quality of life of people with learning disability - especially for those who are currently at greatest risk of early mortality. To achieve this there needs to be a systematic and objective means of proactively and reliably identifying those who are at risk in order to provide them with additional effective preventative care and support.

The Solution

The answer lies with the whole health and care system – across primary and secondary health services and the social care sector - but to make the solution work it needs to be led. Essex Learning Disability Partnership has this responsibility.

Essex Learning Disability Partnership now holds a register that uses RAG ratings (red, amber and green) to reflect relative levels of risk of premature mortality or preventable death. Everyone with a red rating and at greatest risk is placed on the Dynamic Support Register (DSR) with the aim of providing them with additional tailored support. The risk management strategies for this group include health coordination to facilitate an effective multi-agency approach, a Physical Health Care and Treatment Review (PH-CTR), frailty LD screening, support to attend an annual health check, and access to the enhanced physical health check and follow-up programme.

The purpose of this information is to raise awareness of the Dynamic Support Register (DSR) and its significance for this highly vulnerable group of people in our communities; and to enable active involvement in specific measures, when they are needed, from across the health and care system to improve the life chances of individual people with learning disabilities on the register.