People with learning disabilities fear falling through the gaps as the NHS makes sweeping changes, campaigners say, as they urge health inequalities to be made a priority.

The government is being urged to create a dedicated NHS programme for people with learning disabilities as campaigners warn they risk being left behind.

More than 1,200 people have signed an open letter to new prime minister Andy Burnham, highlighting persistent health inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities.

This comes as sweeping changes are being introduced in the NHS. The 10 Year Health Plan promises more care in the community and away from hospitals, a greater emphasis on technology to reduce administrative work and priority given to preventative medicine.

However, campaigners say that with no national strategy focused on learning disabilities, people fear falling through the gaps.

The letter, coordinated by Learning Disability England, highlights a series of long-standing concerns, including lower life expectancy, preventable deaths and barriers to accessing healthcare.

More than half of adults with learning disabilities die before the age of 65, according to the Learning Disabilities Mortality Review.

The report, commissioned by NHS England, looked at deaths recorded between 2021 and 2024 and found those with learning disabilities died, on average, 19 years younger than the general population.

Avoidable death

The proportion of avoidable deaths resulting from treatable conditions such as epilepsy and pneumonia had declined from 46% in 2021 to 39% in 2024 but was almost double that of the general adult population.

In response, then-health minister Preet Kaur Gill said the findings were “unacceptable”, and the government is “committed to improving outcomes” through early intervention and more training.

Meanwhile, a recent Royal College of Nursing review found the number of learning disability nurses employed by the NHS had fallen by a third, from 7,083 in 2009 to 4,768 in 2025.

People with learning disabilities are overlooked when it comes to health planning, said Mary Woodall, a member of Learning Disability England’s representative body, and part of the delegation that delivered the letter to Downing Street last month.

Signatories, including family members and support organisations, said the national strategy should be co-led by a person with learning disabilities and produced with those who have “lived experience”.

Campaigners said recent progress, including new guidance introduced under the Mental Health Act and the Down Syndrome Act, must be supported by a national programme to deliver lasting improvements.

The letter serves as a reminder that people with learning disabilities “deserve the same chance to live healthy, fulfilling lives as everyone else,” Woodall added.