Learning Disability Annual Health Check Engagement Report (2017)
Annual health checks give people with learning disabilities the opportunity to discuss their health with a GP or nurse and help identify health issues early. Research shows that people with learning disabilities are more likely to experience health inequalities and undiagnosed conditions, making these checks particularly important.
As part of our 2016/17 work plan, we wanted to understand whether there were barriers preventing people from accessing their health checks and identify any good practice that could help increase uptake across County Durham.
What we did
To gather people’s experiences, we:
- spoke to people with learning disabilities at community events and support groups
- carried out an online survey
- spoke with care home providers
- contacted GP surgeries about how they offer annual health checks
In total, we received 100 survey responses from people across the county.
What we found
Our engagement identified several key findings:
- 54% of people who responded said they had received an annual health check
- Some people said they did not know they were entitled to a health check
- Others said they had not been offered one
- Anxiety about visiting GP surgeries was also mentioned as a barrier for some people
Care home providers told us that all of their service users had received their health checks, showing that additional support can help improve uptake.
Our Recommendations:
Following a review of our findings we would recommend the following actions:
- All eligible patients should be contacted to offer a health check in an appropriate and user friendly manner. Any letters sent should be in an easy read format.
- GP surgeries should be encouraged to share best practice to maximise the uptake of health checks.
- The use of peer groups to promote health check uptake should be encouraged
- Where necessary GP surgeries should consider using alternative venues to offer health checks which may be less intimidating for people with learning disabilities who are reluctant to go to surgeries.
- Healthwatch County Durham should monitor the data produced by NHS England to identify whether the uptake in County Durham is improving
Download the report
Need this information in another format?
If you need this information in a different format, please contact us:
📧 info@healthwatchcountydurham.co.uk
📞 0300 180 0025
