Mencap has just released (15 February 2012) an update to their original Death by Indifference report of 2007, and it looks at what progress has been made in the last 5 years.

It confirms that, although some positive steps have been taken in the NHS, many health professionals are still failing to provide adequate care to people with a learning disability. The report highlights the deaths of 74 people with a learning disability in NHS care over the last ten years which Mencap believes are a direct result of institutional discrimination and could have been avoided.

The report uncovers common errors made by healthcare professionals. These include failure to abide by disability discrimination law, ignoring crucial advice from families and failing to meet even basic care needs. Mencap believes that this is underpinned by an assumption by some healthcare professionals that people with a learning disability are not worth treating.

To end discrimination in the NHS and ensure people with a learning disability receive the same quality of care as the rest of the population, Mencap is calling for a number of commitments. These include annual health checks to become a permanent part of the GP contract, all health professionals to act within the law and get training around the Equality Act and Mental Capacity Act, regulatory bodies to conduct rigorous investigations and deliver appropriate sanctions where health professionals have failed in their obligations to patients with a learning disability, and a standard hospital passport for all people with a learning disability.

Find out more about Mencap's Getting it Right campaign here

Download a copy of Death by Indifference: 74 deaths and counting here

Download a copy of the Easy Read summary of Death by Indifference: 74 deaths and counting here