Who are People First Dorset?
People First Dorset is a user led charity. We aim to change the lives of people with learning disabilities by tackling loneliness and social isolation, we challenge discrimination, help improve health and wellbeing, and promote equality by enabling people to speak up and be heard, this is called self-advocacy.
We develop self-advocacy skills in three stages. It starts by coming together, then speaking up, and finally leading change oneself. Individuals are supported to develop their communication skills, raise concerns and they are empowered to collectively find and achieve solutions
Why did we create the Toolkit?
People with learning disabilities are three times more likely to die from causes of death that could have been avoided with good quality healthcare (CIPOLD, 2013).
They may be unaware of the medical implications of symptoms they experience, have difficulty communicating their symptoms or may be less likely to report them to medical staff.
Annual Health Checks for people with learning disabilities are very important, they provide a way to detect, treat and prevent unmet health conditions.
The uptake of annual health checks for people with learning disabilities nationally and in Dorset has historically been very low. Part of the reason for this is GP practices are unclear on how to conduct the checks and don’t provide communications such as invite letters and health information in an easy read format.
What is in the Toolkit?
People First Dorset and Dorset CCG worked in partnership with people with learning disabilities and key stakeholders from across Primary Care, Community Learning Disability Teams, the voluntary and community sector and parents/family carers to create this Toolkits for all GP Practices across Dorset.
The toolkit includes a comprehensive guide giving good practice guidance to practitioners, to help them arrange and carry out effective Annual Health Checks for people with learning disabilities.
It also provides a pack of easy read resources like a template invite letter, a health questionnaire, action plans and information booklets on a range of health-related topics.
What difference has it made?
The Toolkits have been distributed to all GP practices in Dorset, 98 in total. They have been well received, the feedback from practices has been very positive.
The Toolkit was only distributed halfway through the financial year in 2021/22. Already the percentage of people with a learning disability who received an Annual Health Check in Dorset has risen from 67% in 2020/21 to 73% in 2021/22.
It is anticipated this percentage will increase again next year, as more practices begin to implement the Toolkit more fully into their practices.
