Enabling people with learning disabilities to manage their own health and well-being

People with learning disabilities have both increased mortality and an increased morbidity; there is poor uptake of health promotion, unrecognized health needs and poor access to health care. They also have a reduced ability to understand, retain and implement advice and information and have difficulty in both identifying and communicating health care problems. There is a great disparity between their health and that of people in the general population. A Health Action Plan is a personalized plan that states the health needs of a person with a learning disability and how these needs should be met; it can support the person in managing their own health needs, and identify which ordinary healthcare services and professionals are needed to enable people to have the necessary support to stay healthy. Including people with disabilities is an essential step in creating sustainable communities.