Learning Disability Today
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A coalition of health organisations and disability campaigners has sent a joint letter to the Health Secretary Wes Streeting, warning of an “imminent collapse” in learning disability nursing that could lead to more avoidable deaths of people with learning disabilities.
The letter from organisations such as the Royal College of Nursing, Mencap, the Down’s Syndrome Association, and the Challenging Behaviour Foundation calls for the Government to recommit to and fund the training targets promised in the NHS Workforce Plan, and to launch national recruitment campaigns to attract new learning disability nurses.
- Further reading: Why we must secure the future of learning disability nurses
It also wants Wes Streeting to guarantee financial support for students and employers to sustain training and apprenticeships. The current apprenticeship levy does not cover the full salary costs of apprentices, nor does it provide funding for backfill arrangements during their training release.
As a result, apprenticeships place a considerable financial strain on NHS Trusts and other providers—particularly challenging during a period of sustained fiscal pressure across the health and care sector.
Learning disability nursing declined by 43%
In the letter, they say that this month’s LeDeR (Learning from Lives and Deaths Review) annual report highlighted how important learning disability nurses are in preventing the avoidable deaths of people with learning disabilities, who die on average nearly 20 years earlier than the general population, and are twice as likely to die avoidably.
However, the workforce has declined by 43% since records began in 2009. If nothing changes, it is predicted that by 2028, there will be only a small number of nurses qualifying in England, with a similar trend in the other UK countries.
As university pre-registration courses close across England, whole regions, such as the South East, and potentially the Midlands, are left with no localised academic institutions offering learning disability nurse training. Recent course closure announcements have included the University of Winchester and Keele University, with the University of Derby under consultation.
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NHS workforce plan commitments on nursing
The 2023 NHS Workforce Plan contained an essential commitment that “…to 2028/29, training places will increase by 46% for learning disability nursing”, with a longer-term commitment by 2031/32 to double training places to over 1,000 locations.
The plan also set out that by 2031/32, 42% of learning disability nurses could be trained through the degree-level apprenticeship route.
The letter adds that they recognise that the Labour government did not develop or sign up to this plan, and it has publicly stated that it wasn’t adequately funded. However, in reviewing the plan over the coming months, they urge the Government to place strong emphasis on safeguarding people with learning disabilities and the learning disability nursing profession.
Future healthcare workforce for people with learning disability
They add that by setting minimum numbers of learning disability nurses per population, this will maintain the viability of the workforce in delivering health services to neighbourhoods and communities. This would ensure the sustainability of the profession and build the future healthcare workforce to address the causes of premature deaths, enabling the realisation of the Mental Health Bill’s ambitions.
Jon Sparkes OBE, chief executive of learning disability charity Mencap, said: “Learning disability nurses save lives. Without urgent intervention, this profession will disappear, leaving people with a learning disability at even greater risk. Health bosses must act now – recommit to the workforce plan, fund training, and stop this crisis before it’s too late.”
The coalition is calling for an urgent meeting with Ministers to agree a rescue plan for the profession and safeguard the health and lives of people with a learning disability.
