Do you have a Learning Disability?   
 

Do you have learning disability or sensory loss problem, then click on this link to ‘www.Easy Health,’ a great new website making health information and support more accessible. The West Midlands Ambulance Service has also created a useful easy to read guide for patients with learning disabilities. To access this please click here.    

What is a learning Disability? 
A learning disability is a reduced intellectual ability and difficulty with everyday activities – for example household tasks, socialising or managing money – which affects someone for their whole life.

People with a learning disability tend to take longer to learn and may need support to develop new skills, understand complex information and interact with other people.

The level of support someone needs depends on individual factors, including the severity of their learning disability. For example, someone with a mild learning disability may only need support with things like getting a job. However, someone with a severe or profound learning disability may need full-time care and support with every aspect of their life – they may also have physical disabilities.

People with certain specific conditions can have a learning disability too. For example, people with Down’s syndrome and some people with autism have a learning disability.

Learning disability is often confused with dyslexia and mental health problems. Mencap describes dyslexia as a “learning difficulty” because, unlike learning disability, it does not affect intellect. Mental health problems can affect anyone at any time and may be overcome with treatment, which is not true of learning disability.

It’s important to remember that with the right support, most people with a learning disability in the UK can lead independent lives.

The above information was taken from the Mencap website which can be visited by clicking here. They have an abundance of useful information. 

Hobs Moat Medical Centre are dedicated to helping all of our patients receive the best possible care we can offer. For our patients:

• With a learning disability they will be offered an annual health check of 40 minutes duration
• All patients with a learning disability have had alerts placed onto their records so as to aid reception staff when booking appointments to allow more time with the doctor and will be offered an option of providing an interpreter on their behalf.  
• Every year, the central learning disability team will visit the Practice to review patients on our Learning Disability register and ensure synchronicity. 

If you feel we could do more to aid you please contact us on our feedback form or simply come into reception and let any member of our team know. 

Cancer Screening  in patients with a
learning disability 

Cervical screening – a useful video for patients with a learning disability  to help explain the importance of screening. 

End of life care –  everyone should receive the same treatment and be able to access the same facilities of care no matter what their understanding. This is a leaflet used by providers to support those who have an LD with end of life care.  /uploads/files/Living_and_dying_with_dignity_leaflet.pdf