Public Health England evidence suggests providing health checks to people with learning disabilities and or autism in primary care settings is effective in identifying previously unrecognised health needs, including those associated with life threatening illnesses (Public Health England 2016)
Within BSMHFT we are working hard to ensure as a trust we link in with GP’s as well as all enhance our own services to demonstrate we are contributing to ensure our service users are registered as learning disability and or autism via GPs, currently in some of our community mental health teams, physical health clinics are being run, however we need to ensure we are supporting the local annual health check by working with the GP surgery’s, the delivery of annual health checks are the responsibility of the GPs, as a trust we are continuing to look at creative ways and opportunities to contribute in ensuring annual health checks are being carried out for our services users and ensure they are registered as learning disability and or autism with the individuals GP. BSMHFT has the ambition for collaborative working with primary care services.
We are currently doing:
- Physical health clinics within some of our community setting
- We have Neighborhood Mental Wellbeing teams in Primary care based in GP surgeries.
- Use of Share Cared Services accessed via RIO
- Working with our partners to get more people on their GP learning disability register.
- Ongoing Partnership between primary and secondary care services
Current Ideas In discussion:
- Production of Health Action plans which provides clear focus on personalized care and enhances quality of care.
- Technology to develop a digital dashboard related to annual health checks.
- Ways to improve collaborative working between secondary and primary care services to ensure annual health checks are being done, clear workforce and supporting data.
- Training via staff/peer supporter to deliver education on annual health checks and increase drive in recognizing importance for people with learning disability and/or autism.
- Look at workforce – look at employing LD Nurse as an annual health check facilitator undertaking outreach for non-attenders.
- ‘Pop up’ clinics, planned outreach work for community settings for those that do not attend, opportunity to do annual health checks in familiar setting.
- Band 3/4 in Neighbourhood mental wellbeing teams
People with a learning disability can sometimes find it hard to know when they are unwell, or to tell someone about it. A health check once a year gives people time to talk about anything that is worrying them and means they can get used to going to visit the doctor. Please see below video provided by NHS Health Innovation Network on what happens at an annual health check for people with learning disabilities.
Please see below video on an introduction to Annual Health Checks for people with learning Disability
From Health Innovation Network (2021)
