Common health problems of people with learning disabilities

Ahead of this year’s Learning Disability Today Conference, Jim Blair, consultant nurse learning (intellectual) disabilities, Great Ormond Street Hospital, looks at some of the more common health problems faced by people with learning disabilities. Health professionals can struggle to identify what a learning disability is, in turn increasing the likelihood of poor care outcomes. A learning disability is €˜a significantly reduced ability to understand new or complex information, to learn new skills (impaired intelligence) with a reduced ability to cope independently (impaired social functioning). Which started before adulthood, with a lasting effect on development’. There are numerous people who are