Reducing Inequalities, Improving Lives: The Contribution, Impact and Value of Learning Disability Nursing
On Thursday 5 November, we hosted an event at the House of Lords which unveiled findings from three research studies within our Learning Disability Nursing Grants Programme.
Those in attendance included advocacy organisations Achieve Together and Dance Syndrome, as well as senior staff from NHS England and researchers from funded projects. Also in attendance was Aaron Hume, a disabled rights campaigner, as well as people with learning disabilities, their families and carers.
RCN Foundation Director, Deepa Korea MBE, said: “This report is a cumulation of work which began in 2019 and has been a key focus of our charitable endeavours since. It showcases the research and education that has taken place over the last couple of years as well as our – like many others in the field - dedication to not only raising the profile of Registered Nurses Learning Disability (RNLDS), but also to amplifying the voice of those with a lived experience. The recent LeDeR Report starkly depicts that people with learning disabilities die 19 years earlier than the general adult population. This is abhorrent. Based on the evidence presented in the report, we know that it is essential that we invest in RNLDs and acknowledge their unique skillset. We must utilise these findings to bridge the gap.”
Read the full report here. Alternatively, an Easy Read version can be found here.
Context
In response to growing UK wide evidence of health inequalities for people living with a learning disability (including poorer health outcomes and premature deaths), together with concerns related to the fall in numbers of learning disability nurses on the NMC’s register, the RCN Foundation identified the need for action.
In 2019 we funded a scoping review, undertaken by the University of West London, to identify RNLD interventions and their impact on the health of people with a learning disability. Findings from this review indicated the need for high-quality research to determine the impact of RNLD interventions across the lifespan. Following this, we undertook further engagement with relevant stakeholders, including people with a learning disability and their families and carers, to inform the programme of work required.
This resulted in the creation of our learning disability nursing grant-making programme: Inclusive Health – Enhancing the Lives of Individuals with Learning Disabilities, which was established in 2024. This was a £330,000 investment which sought to address the health and care challenges faced by people with a learning disability, with the aim to enable RNLDs to reduce health inequality and enhance health related quality of life outcomes for people with a learning disability.
Inclusive Health – Enhancing the Lives of Individuals with Learning Disabilities
The grant programme consisted of ten research studies, as well as education scholarships to develop Advanced Nurse Practitioners in learning disability nursing.
The objectives of the grant programme were:
- To strengthen the evidence-base underpinning learning disability nursing in order to reduce health inequality, premature death and enhance health related quality of life outcomes for people with a learning disability across diverse healthcare settings in the UK, though a programme of research led by people with a learning disability and RNLDs.
- To enhance the knowledge, skill and competence of nurses and midwives caring for people with a learning disability through a programme of education grants.
Reducing Inequalities, Improving Lives: The Contribution, Impact and Value of Learning Disability Nursing
The purpose of the report is to review and analyse outputs from three research studies within the grants programme, identifying key implications across the findings.
The studies are:
- Rapid review on the economic impact of learning disability nurses in the UK
- Inequality, workforce and outcome: what’s the contribution of the Learning Disability Nurse?
- Learning Disability Nurse Apprenticeship Scoping Review
The report, which can be read in full here, has aligned insights and findings from the above to current policy and practice context of learning disability nursing.
The evidence in the report obtained by the three studies demonstrates that RNLDs make a distinctive and highly valuable contribution to reducing health inequalities, improving health outcomes, preventing avoidable deaths and supporting people with learning disabilities and their families across health and social care systems. Despite continuing challenges around visibility, recruitment and retention, the evidence indicates that learning disability nursing delivers both clinical and economic benefits and remains essential to achieving equitable healthcare.
People with learning disabilities continue to experience significant health inequalities, poorer health outcomes and higher rates of premature mortality than the general population. Learning Disability Nurses are uniquely positioned to address these inequalities through specialist knowledge, advocacy, communication skills, reasonable adjustment expertise and system leadership.
The research consistently identifies RNLDs as professionals who bridge gaps between individuals, families, health services and social care systems, helping people access the right care at the right time.
As such, the Foundation propose that a National Learning Disability Nursing Strategy is developed and implemented across the UK, which expands the workforce, protects specialist roles, embeds RNLDs across acute, community and primary care services, and measures their impact on health inequalities, mortality, quality of life and system costs. This is supported by all three reports, and aligns closely with the evidence on contribution, impact, workforce sustainability and health inequality reduction.
Read the full report here. Alternatively, an Easy Read version can be found here.