According to research conducted by NHS Digital, people who have learning disabilities in Birmingham are at greater risk of death in comparison to the general population.

The research found that in Birmingham between 2015-2018 there was a record number of 89 deaths for individuals who were identified with a learning disability below the age of 75. This was significantly higher than the average of 23 deaths than would be expected in people with learning disabilities of the same age and gender in the general population.

The NHS identifies a learning disability as something which ‘affects the way a person understands information and how they communicate’ and ranges from mild to severe and also highlights that ‘around 1.5million people in the UK have a learning disability’. It is thought up to 350,000 people have a severe learning disability.’

Whilst there is not a known cause of learning disabilities, it is thought that some individuals are born with a disability while others may develop one due to an illness or accident.

NHS Digital goes on to state that people who have a learning disability are thought to have a ‘shorter life expectancy than that of the general population’ but that this is preventable.

Findings published in the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) found that policies relating to the care and support that people who had learning disabilities received was inadequate and needed improving.

Professor Pauline Heslop who led the LeDeR programme articulated that ‘the finding suggest we still have a long way to go for people who have learning disabilities.’