The learning disability charity Dimensions have launched a campaign to make GP practices more accessible for people with learning disabilities.
The #MyGPandMe campaign follows the publishing of Dimensions’ MyGPandMe Research which found that almost a third of people with learning disabilities or autism feel less likely to be treated with care and concern at the doctors, and two thirds said their GP did not make reasonable adjustments for them.
These findings also come after the EHRC revelation that people with learning disabilities are five times more likely to end up in hospital for preventable issues that can be treated by their GP. The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review program also found that men with learning disabilities live 23 years less than the general population, and women with learning disabilities live up to 29 years less.
During the Dimensions research, 98% of the GPs they spoke to claimed that they would benefit from a training session run by people with learning disabilities or autism. Currently, student GPs receive no mandated face-to-face training around caring for people with learning disabilities, and little training around implementing reasonable adjustments to make a service accessible.
The campaign aims to make doctors’ surgeries more accessible for people with learning disabilities or autism. Dave Robinson, Dimensions Health Campaign Manager believes that this can be achieved with the right training, a change in perceptions and a more person-centered approach to health care.
Dimensions have created a dedicated MyGPandMe results page which details the findings of the research in a quick and simple manner, making it easy to read through the findings and understand the problems faced by people with learning disabilities when they visit their doctors.
The MyGPandMe homepage is a great place to visit if you would like to quickly understand the issues the campaign is trying to tackle as it includes a useful video as well as links to information about Dimensions GP Training and a specially designed Flyer to encourage your GP to become more learning disability and autism friendly.
