Promoting annual health checks for people with a learning disability
Our health board, in partnership with the CTM Regional Partnership, Cwm Taf People First and People First Bridgend are working together to promote the importance of annual health checks for people with learning disabilities.
Increasing access to health checks is a national priority, identified in Welsh Government’s ‘Learning Disability Delivery and Implementation Plan 2022-2026’.
Take-up of annual health checks helps to reduce health inequalities by ensuring people with learning disabilities and their families have choice and control over their health and wellbeing.
A health check takes approximately an hour; it provides an opportunity for patients, their families and carers to communicate any concerns, to ask questions, and to receive advice from their GP on how to manage their physical and mental health going forward.
In CTM, good progress has been made across primary care to increase the uptake and quality of annual health checks, and we are committed to making even further progress and improvements.
A film has been developed that explains annual health checks, it can be viewed here.
The film was co-designed with people with learning disabilities from Cwm Taf Morgannwg, and healthcare professionals and specialists. For example, this included Tom, a regional health champion and Dr Hall, a GP at Ashgrove Surgery in Pontypridd.
Dr Hall has been involved in a pilot scheme in Taff Ely, implemented in partnership with Improvement Cymru, to improve processes around annual health checks.
In addition, BBC Wales has been working with us to help promote the value and importance of health checks. You can read the latest coverage here involving Tom, Dr Hall and Helen Thompson, a learning disability nurse.
Improving outcomes for people for learning disabilities from an annual health check is a priority action for the Cwm Taf Morgannwg Regional Learning Disabilities Health Work Stream
If you have any further questions on annual health checks, please contact Wendy James, Lead for Learning Disabilities, CTM UHB - Wendy.James@wales.nhs.uk.
10/10/2024