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PARLIAMENTARY DEBATE
Health Inequalities - 25 April 2023 (Commons/Commons Chamber)

Debate Detail

Contributions from Dame Caroline Dinenage, are highlighted with a yellow border.
Con
Dame Caroline Dinenage
Gosport
8. What steps his Department is taking to tackle health inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities and autistic people.
  12:00:44
Maria Caulfield
The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care
Annual health checks for people with a learning disability are important in addressing the causes of avoidable deaths and avoidable morbidity and in improving health.
Dame Caroline Dinenage
It is eight years since the Transforming Care programme started, with a target of halving the number of people with a learning disability and autistic people in in-patient mental health settings by 2024, yet according to the Challenging Behaviour Foundation, the number of children in those settings has nearly doubled since then, the average length of stay is 5.4 years and, 12 years on from the Winterbourne View scandal, reports of appalling standards of care are still too frequent. Does the Minister agree that people with learning disabilities and autistic people deserve so much better?
Maria Caulfield
I thank my hon. Friend for her work in this place. Our priority is always to ensure that children and adults with a learning disability and autistic people receive high-quality care. More than 2,000 people—children and adults—are still waiting to be discharged from in-patient facilities but that is a reduction of 30% and we are making progress. I am meeting individual integrated care boards—[Interruption.] Perhaps the shadow Minister would like to listen to this. I am meeting individual ICBs to go through their patients who are waiting to be discharged to see what more support we can give to make that happen as quickly as possible.
SNP
Richard Thomson
Gordon
Last year the Scottish Government announced £2 million-worth of funding and help for health boards to deliver health checks for all people with learning disabilities so that any health issues could be identified and treated as quickly as possible. What plans do the UK Government have to do similar across England?
Maria Caulfield
We also ensure that those eligible for safe and wellbeing reviews get one. Last year about 87% of those who were eligible did so.

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