Health Services: Learning Disability

(asked on 15th October 2018) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what training NHS administrative staff receive to ensure that they are able to meet the specific needs of people with learning difficulties.


Answered by
Caroline Dinenage Portrait
Caroline Dinenage
This question was answered on 23rd October 2018

Employers have a statutory responsibility to provide sufficient numbers of suitably qualified, competent staff to meet the needs of the people using health services, including those with a learning disability or learning difficulties.

The Learning Disability Core Skills Education and Training Framework, published in July 2016 sets out the requisite skills and competencies that staff need to deliver care and support to people with a learning disability. The Framework sets out the necessary skills across three tiers: Tier 1, knowledge for roles that require general awareness of learning disabilities including for administrative roles; Tier 2, knowledge and skills for roles that will have some regular contact with people with a learning disability and Tier 3, knowledge and skills for those providing care and support for people with a learning disability.

Health Education England (HEE) is currently producing e-Learning materials to support Tier 1 learning disability awareness training.

HEE also uses a workforce development fund to support the ongoing development of staff, with spending focused on priority areas, including staff working with people with learning disabilities and or autism. All nurses should receive learning disabilities training as part of their pre-registration education.

In September, the Government response to the second Annual Report of the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review committed to a public consultation on proposals for mandatory learning disability training for all health and care staff, the consultation to conclude by the end of March 2019.

Reticulating Splines