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<p>The Department is committed to ensuring that all disabled people, including those
with a learning disability, have the same opportunities to access high quality healthcare
as everyone else. Where necessary, all healthcare services should make reasonable
adjustments to ensure this, in line with the requirements of the Equalities Act 2010
and the NHS Information Standard. We have no plans to introduce a national healthcare
strategy for disabled people.</p><p> </p><p>In the new year we will consult on the
introduction of mandatory learning disability and autism training for health and care
staff. This will provide for greater parity of treatment by ensuring that staff understand
the needs of people with learning disability or autism and have the skills to deliver
the most effective care and support to them.</p><p> </p><p>Learning disabilities and
autism are also one of the four clinical priority areas within the National Health
Service long-term plan, which will also help to address the inequalities experienced
by people with a learning disability or autism.</p><p> </p><p>As of 30 November 2018,
914 reviews of deaths reported to the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review Programme
(LeDeR) have been completed with a further 185 at the approval stage. The next annual
report of the LeDeR programme is currently planned to be published before summer 2019
and will include data from 1 January 2018 to 31 December 2018. All local areas have
access to findings from reviews taking place within them.</p><p> </p><p>The Department
does not assess complaints made to the National Health Service by people with a learning
disability. The Local Authority Social Services and National Health Service Complaints
(England) Regulations 2009 set out what local organisations must do in respect of
complaint handling in the NHS. These regulations are designed to ensure that wherever
possible complaints are resolved effectively at local level with lessons learnt to
improve services.</p><p> </p><p>As part of the implementation of the Learning Disability
Improvement Standards, a data collection is being undertaken by NHS Improvement to
better understand the key themes arising for people with learning disabilities accessing
NHS care. As part of the data collection, which will close on 31 December, NHS trusts
are expected to measure themselves against the Learning Improvement Standards and
a number of metrics allied to each Standard. NHS Improvement has shared data from
this collection with the Care Quality Commission to help inform their regulatory approach
and identify where their support activity is best prioritised.</p><p> </p><p>We have
not made a formal assessment of whether the number of avoidable deaths of people with
learning disabilities in the NHS has reduced. The aim of the LeDeR programme and the
Learning Disability Improvement Standards is to ensure that NHS trusts and commissioners
maintain a focus on avoidable mortality so that the deaths of people with learning
disabilities thought to be due to problems in care are significantly reduced. The
LeDeR programme is taking place within the context of the Government’s Learning from
Deaths Programme and all acute, community and mental health trusts are required to
review and publish locally the number of deaths thought to be due to problems in care
on a quarterly basis, evidence of what they have learned through reviews and the actions
taken to prevent such deaths in future on an annual basis.</p>
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