Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham on caring for people with learning disabilities

People with learning disabilities have a lower life expectancy than those without, Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham tells medical editor Dawn Liz Powell in this episode of the Clinical Update podcast. She adds that while this can relate to  comorbid physical conditions, it can also be because of health inequalities . ‘ Possibly they don’t receive the same quality of care that the general population receives…. Or there’s lack of coordination and integration of care’, Professor Chew-Graham explains.

As well as having poorer physical health than the general population, people with learning disabilities can also have poorer mental health. This can be because common mental health problems, such as anxiety and depression, can present differently in this population — making them difficult to diagnose and treat.

Professor Chew-Graham, in this interview, outlines how GPs and other primary care professionals can support patients with learning disabilities, including ensuring information is presented in an accessible format and that the person has as much autonomy as possible.

You can access the website version of this podcast on MIMS Learning to make notes for your appraisal. MIMS Learning offers hundreds of hours of CPD for healthcare professionals, along with a handy CPD organiser.

Please note: this podcast is presented by medical editors and discusses educational content written or presented by doctors, nurses and other healthcare professionals on the MIMS Learning website and at live events.

MIMS Learning modules

Guidance update: NICE guidelines on mental health problems in people with learning disabilities

Podcast: Professor Carolyn Chew-Graham on supporting people with severe mental illness

Autism spectrum disorder: clinical review

Mental health conditions in autistic children and adolescents

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