A message from Reach’s Voice & Participation Group:
At the weekend, we talked about health inequalities affecting people with learning disabilities. We discussed Learning Disability England’s open letter asking the Government to make a plan to improve the health of people with learning disabilities — and we signed it.
We shared some of the barriers we face when using health services, including:
• Not always being listened to.
• People speaking to our carers or family members instead of speaking directly to us.
• Difficulty making appointments and getting to them.
• Transport problems, especially when services are far away.
• Digital systems that can make things harder.
• Not having enough choice about appointments or healthcare professionals.
• Worries about access to NHS dentists.
We also talked about how unfair and stressful it is when people are blamed, or risk being removed from lists, for missing appointments. Sometimes this happens because they do not have the support they need, cannot get transport, or face other problems that are not their fault.
Our message is clear: health services need to learn how to listen to people with learning disabilities and involve us in making services better.
As members of Reach’s Voice & Participation Group, we have experience helping organisations improve services through co-production and co-design. We are ready to work with services in Nottinghamshire to help people live happier, healthier lives.
Nothing about us without us.
Join us in signing the open letter here forms.office.com/pages/responsepage.aspx?id=b8cj-G6tqkW0weAyQU6wJUMUMxeyUhJDmpDax8AWRDJUMFZRTzFGV...
- Reach's Voice & Participation group
#LearningDisability #HealthInequalities #AccessibleHealthcare #Nottinghamshire #NothingAboutUsWithoutUs
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