I used to be a member of The Tuesday Group in Lewisham. Yolanda and Glory were also members of the group. Sadly they have passed away. Yolanda was 48 years old and Glory was in her early fifties. Its really sad but they are just a statistic and does the NHS really care about the lives of people with learning disabilities?
I saw the LeDeR report was published in early May. It was a shocking read and people are still dying much younger than the rest of the population. Also 1 in 8 people die with receiving poor care and neglect. This makes me so angry. This is the United Kingdom and the year is 2018. But for people with learning disabilities we are treated as second class citizens, facing prejudice on a daily basis and I just think that people don't care about us. We have known about the early deaths of people with learning disabilities for years and report after report and nothing has changed.
I saw that Jeremy Hunt sneaked out of parliament when he was asked about LeDeR. That was so rude and he shows no respect to people with learning disabilities. I think NHS England should respond to this report instead of saying nothing and hoping that it goes away, until the next report.
In Lewisham we had a talk about the sad death of Connor Sparrowhawk. Everyone knew he had epilepsy and no one thought it would be a good idea to support him during bath time? It is unbelievable. We were told last week of a young man called Oliver McGowan who also died whilst in hospital. Absolutely shocking. These young men had their lives in front of them but it was taken away by those who are supposed to be caring.
I train staff about reasonable adjustments. I think all staff in the NHS need training about people with learning disabilities. How to communicate with people should be a priority. Also training on recognising pain in people with severe and profound learning disabilities. Also to be told the right terminology, don't use the 'R' word.
I could go on and on but I will finish it with this. The NHS is celebrating 70 years. We will lucky if we reach 60, let alone 70! I won't be celebrating a NHS that doesn't care about people with learning disabilities. I will be raising a glass for Yolanda, Glory, Connor and Oliver. You may be gone but never forgotten.
Peter Cronin
Self Advocate
Well said! Although there are lots of us in the NHS who care a great deal about people with learning disabilities. As a learning disability nurse I fight every day for the rights of those who can't fight for themselves.
ReplyDeleteVery well said so thank you Peter. I also very much share your concerns around people who have learning disabilities who are experiencing pain and the lack of pain relief they are being offered. well done
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