Don’t Look Away: Turning Learning into Action

Girl in wheelchair and her carer smiling under a colourful parachute

Find out how KMCH is helping turn LeDeR recommendations into action

The new LeDeR 2024 report has highlighted that respiratory infections remain a leading cause of avoidable death for people with a learning disability and has identified key actions for clinicians and services to help address this. These include improving recognition of deterioration, supporting carers and care staff with training, strengthening prevention measures such as vaccination, and ensuring clear pathways for timely access to specialist support.

These recommendations will feel familiar to many involved in respiratory health and learning disability services. They closely reflect the principles that underpin the Keeping My Chest Healthy (KMCH) approach: identifying risk early, supporting proactive care planning, improving communication between professionals and carers, and helping people receive the right support before a crisis occurs.

The publication is a timely reminder that, despite decades of learning, people with learning disabilities continue to experience significant health inequalities and are still more likely to die from causes that could potentially be prevented.

As discussions continue nationally, there is a renewed focus on moving beyond identifying problems and ensuring that learning leads to meaningful change in practice.

The LeDeR priorities provide a clear framework for action and an opportunity for services to reflect on how respiratory health is identified, supported and prioritised within their local systems.

Read the full report: LeDeR 2024 Priorities for Implementation for Clinicians and Services

After more than 50 years of reports highlighting poorer health outcomes for people with learning disabilities, the challenge is no longer knowing what needs to change – it is ensuring that change happens.

In the words of the Staying Alive and Well Group, a panel of people with learning disabilities: “Don’t Look Away”. Real change requires us to face uncomfortable truths and act on what we know.