There are approximately 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability – about 2.5% of the population – and this number is growing by about 1.1% each year. The number of people over 60 years old with a learning disability is expected to grow by 36% between 2011 and 2021, with obvious implications for palliative care.
A number of different terms are used to describe learning disability, including ‘learning difficulty’, ‘mental retardation’ and ‘intellectual disability’; they all indicate a variety of disorders that affect the acquisition, retention, understanding, organisation or use of verbal and/or non-verbal information.
The new publication is authored by Linda McEnhill and published by Help the Hospices. It represents an important step towards greater partnership by sharing some of the thinking, good practice and resources that have been developed throughout learning disability and end of life care services, in a form that is accessible to all practitioners but especially those in a hospice setting. It includes sections on:
- cognition and communication
- consent
- advance care planning
- pain and symptom control
- psychosocial care
- carer issues
- bereavement.
The publication is full of case studies and links to other useful resources and organisations.
‘Widening access to palliative care for people with learning disabilities: guidance and resources for professionals’ can be downloaded from Help the Hospices website. For a hard copy email publications@helpthehospices.org.uk
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