We know that sometimes people with learning disabilities don’t receive adequate care from the NHS. Many high profile reports and documentaries have highlighted the failings across health and social care and it’s noticeable that the mistakes that happen are often around regularly occurring themes (e.g. poor communication, ignoring advice from families).
We have been heavily involved in a new website from the General Medical Council that aims to teach doctors how to do better. The site identifies the issues, highlights patient perspectives and shows how professionals can put guidance into practice. It’s a very interactive resource with lots of video and online learning tools.
We have been working with Equilibrium – The Bipolar Foundation for a number of years; helping build a website for people with bipolar disorder that’s populated with reliable information.
By “getting involved in research” we mean active participation, such as sitting on a steering group, advising on funding applications or helping to write information for patients.