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About half of adults with a learning disability received an annual health check with their GP in the past year, a 8% year-on-year increase, new figures have revealed.
However, there is still much room for improvement, an expert has warned. Figures collected by the Department of Health and published by the Improving Health and Lives Learning Disabilities Observatory found that in the past year, 149,480 people were identified by primary care trusts (PCTs) as adults with a learning disability, known to their GP and local authority social services department.
Of those, 72,782 had an annual health check. Overall, 49% of eligible individuals underwent a health check, representing an 8% increase from 2009/10. Coverage in 2008/9, the first year of the scheme, was 23%.
Annual health checks are available for people with a learning disability who are 14 years old or older. They are carried out by a doctor or nurse once a year. Annual Health Checks provide an opportunity for a doctor or nurse, the person with a learning disability, and those who support them (if desired) to review a person’s physical and mental health.
Annual health check to find treatment conditions
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These health checks are proving to be valuable. In more than 50% of cases, GPs identify necessary, treatable conditions, including deafness caused by earwax, basic dental problems, or impaired vision due to the need for new glasses.
Professor Eric Emerson, co-director of the National Specialist Learning Disabilities Public Health Observatory, said: “Providing annual health checks for adults with learning disabilities is fundamental to reducing the significant health inequalities faced by this vulnerable group. As such, they are a critically important ‘reasonable adjustment’ that all GP practices should be implementing.
“Results from 2010/11 show that while good progress has been made, there is still much room for improvement. It is very worrying that the coverage rate in the bottom 10% of PCTs is 24% or less (or 1 in 4).”
