Deficient health and social services for elderly people with learning disabilities

Elderly people with learning disabilities have greater psychiatric morbidity than younger individuals, but a previous report has suggested that the majority of the former do not receive treatment. All people with learning disabilities aged 65 years and over living in Leicestershire, England (n = 134), and a random sample of adults with learning disabilities aged between 20 and 64 years (n = 73) were assessed for psychiatric disorders and service use. Elderly people received less day care, less respite care and were less likely to have a social worker and receive input from most health services than the younger group. Chiropody was an exception. Those receiving psychiatric services did so through the learning disabilities specialist services only. Those with an additional psychiatric disorder were more likely to receive services, but results still favoured the younger group. Services were better accessed by those living in residential care. Failure to access services may relate to carers attitudes and beliefs: in learning disability settings, morbidity was attributed to 'it's just old age; in the elderly settings, morbidity was attributed to 'it's because s/he has learning disabilities'. The specialist health and social services need to take the lead in health promotion and education.