Impact of Coronavirus on People with Learning Disabilities

It was really tragic to read Public Health England’s report on how adults with learning disabilities are disproportionately affected by coronavirus.

 This is why at Bethphage we are doing all we can to keep the people we support as safe as possible from Coronavirus by

• following latest public health guidelines
• ensuring our staff are equipped with the right PPE
• people are keeping their distance
• maintaining the highest hygiene standards.

At Bethphage we already know that people with learning disabilities tend to suffer from poorer health than the general population which is why we are passionate about improving their health outcomes. This report highlights to us  the importance of the work we are doing with Mencap Campaigns on Treat Me Well Shropshire where we are working together to improve experiences people with learning disabilities face when accessing healthcare.

Treat Me Well Shropshire met again last week and wanted to remind everyone of the importance of:

• ensuring that annual health checks do still occur despite Coronavirus restrictions
• people know their rights and they can be accompanied by a carer when accessing healthcare
• how they can ask for reasonable adjustments like better communication, more time and clearer information which can make a huge difference to the whole experience.

We were delighted to have been  joined by Ellie from Shrewsbury & Telford NHS Trust’s  Patient Experience Team. It was great to hear the steps they are taking  at to improve the whole patient experience for adults with learning disabilities. They have created more more easy read leaflets, working towards improving the signage  and will be implementing better ways to ensure the hospital passport is seen and used by healthcare staff.

Treat Me Well Shropshire will be meeting again in January so please get in touch if you want to join us.