Learning disability nursing

Inclusive Health – enhancing the lives of individuals with learning disabilities

We are funding a series of research and education projects to support the needs and outcomes of people living with a learning disability and the nursing staff who support them. The programme will be delivered over a four-year period at a cost of around £360,000. Read more here about our learning disability and learning disability nursing grant-making programme here.

In 2019, we funded a scoping review, undertaken by the University of West London, to identify learning disability nursing interventions and their impact on the health of people with a lived experience of a learning disability.

A learning disability is a lifelong condition which significantly affects an individual’s ability to carry out everyday activities, understand new or complex information and learn new skills (NHS, 2018; Mencap, 2022). There are currently 1.5 million people in the UK with a learning disability which accounts for 2.16% of adults and 2.5% of children (ONS, 2020). Despite this, NHS figures from 2012-2022 show that the number of registered learning disability nurses in England has fallen by 31% in the past decade - from 4,353 to 2,983 comparatively.

Meet Samantha

Following the arrival of her second daughter who has Down's Syndrome, Samantha decided to change careers. She was awarded an Into Nursing education grant of £7,500 to undertake a BSc in Learning Disability Nursing, enabling her to support people with learning disabilities.