Learning Disabilities Collaborative – working with primary care

Learning Disabilities Collaborative – increasing uptake of flu vaccines and annual health checks

The West of England Learning Disabilities Collaborative (LDC) was established in early 2019 to address the disparity in age of death for people with learning disabilities and the general population. Many of these deaths continue to be from avoidable causes, such as pneumonia and sepsis. Working closely with primary care, the LDC focuses on three key priority areas:

1. Using the National Early Warning Score 2 (NEWS2) and soft-signs tools to support early identification of physical deterioration.
2. Increasing uptake of, and standardising the quality of, annual health checks.
3. Increasing uptake of the annual flu vaccination, including promoting the nasal vaccine as a reasonable adjustment for people with a severe needle phobia.

Read more about the West of England Learning Disabilities Collaborative which has been shortlisted for a 2021 HSJ Patient Safety Award.