Image credit: Health and Social Care Select Committee

A coalition of charities, campaigners and health organisations has written to Wes Streeting, Secretary of State for Social Care, warning him of the “imminent collapse” of learning disability nursing that threatens the lives of thousands of people with a learning disability.

The joint letter, spearheaded by charity Mencap and signed by organisations including the Royal College of Nursing and the Down’s Syndrome Association, calls for the government to recommit to funding and training targets promised in the NHS Worforce Plan.

The coalition also wants Wes Streeting to launch national recruitment campaigns to attract new Learning Disability (LD) Nurses, guarantee financial support for students and employers to sustain training and apprenticeships, and set minimum staffing levels to ensure safe care and protect lives.

The joint letter refers to a recent LeDeR (Learning from Lives and Deaths Review) report, which highlights the importance of LD Nurses in preventing avoidable deaths of people with learning disabilities, who die on average nearly 20 years earlier than the general population.

43% decline in LD Nurses

The coalition said that despite LD Nurses being the only professionals trained specifically to meet the health needs of people with learning disabilities at the point of registration, the workforce has declined by 43% since records began in 2009.

It stresses that learning disability nursing will collapse by 2028 if the government fails to take “urgent action”.

The 2023 NHS Workforce Plan contained a commitment to increase training places for learning disability nursing by 46% by 2028/29, with a longer-term commitment to double training places to over 1,000 by 2031/32.

The coalition noted in the letter that it recognises that the Labour government did not develop or sign up to the plan and has publicly stated that it wasn’t properly funded.

However, it urges policymakers reviewing the plan over the coming months to “place strong emphasis” on safeguarding the learning disability nursing profession and the people it serves.

Jon Sparkes OBE, Chief Executive of Mencap, said: “Learning disability nurses save lives. Without urgent intervention, this profession will disappear, leaving people with a learning disability at even greater risk.

“Health bosses must act now – recommit to the workforce plan, fund training, and stop this crisis before it’s too late.”

The coalition is calling for an urgent meeting with Ministers to agree a rescue plan for the profession and safeguard the health and lives of people with a learning disability.