Peers hit out at ‘avoidable deaths’ scandal of people with learning disabilities

More than 1,000 people with learning disabilities under the care of the NHS are suffering avoidable deaths each year, the Lords heard.

Labour’s Lord Hunt of Kings Heath (pictured) insisted the scale of the problem demanded stronger action from the Government.

The peer questioned whether plans for NHS trusts to carry out self-assessments of such avoidable deaths would work.

“Some estimates have put it at over 1,000 deaths per year. Given the NHS seems to have a real problem in providing a decent NHS care generally to people with learning disabilities, how confident can we be that this self-assessment will actually identify people with learning disabilities who actually have suffered avoidable deaths within their care?” the peer asked during Lords question time.

Liberal Democrat peer Lord Rennard described the situation as a “scandal” which should be given more priority by ministers.

“Something is seriously wrong when two thirds of the unexplained deaths of these highly vulnerable people with learning difficulties, when they die in NHS hospitals in England, they are not properly investigated,” he said.

Health minister Lord Prior of Brampton defended the self-assessment move, saying that it was a short-term plan which would be completed by April so that long-term action could be put in place.

“The fact that so many people with learning difficulties do die much younger than people without those disabilities is a concern to everybody,” the minister said.

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