The Royal College of Nursing has warned that falling numbers of learning disability nurses are causing avoidable patient deaths.
The Royal College of Nursing (RCN), the world’s largest nursing union and professional body, has warned that parts of England risk becoming “learning disability nurse deserts”, with as student numbers fall in every region, and courses close.
The number of learning disability nurses employed in the NHS in England fell by nearly half under the previous government between May 2010 and July 2024.
There has also been a 36% decrease in the number of acceptances for learning disability courses in England over the last eight years. Significantly, the RCN points out, that not a single university in the South East offered the degree in 2024.
“Transforming the care for people with learning disabilities couldn’t be more urgent. That starts with investing in the workforce that delivers their care. This means fair pay, funding nursing education, and loan forgiveness as key fundamental policies to recruit and retain more nurses,” says RCN chief nursing officer Lynn Woolsey.
The care that is needed
Reforms to nursing education have been particularly damaged learning disability nursing, a speciality that draws heavily from mature students. They made up three-quarters of all acceptances in 2023, but numbers accepted onto courses have fallen by a third since 2015.
Most of the period that the RCN analysed encompasses the period after the nursing bursary was scrapped in England and the universal maintenance support was removed for nursing undergraduates.
Jackie O’Sullivan, executive director of strategy and influence at learning disability charity Mencap, points out that 42% of deaths among people with a learning disability in 2022 were avoidable, mainly because of difficulties accessing care and treatment.
“These specialist nurses help people get the care they need, both in hospitals and in the community, and vitally make sure that someone’s learning disability isn’t used as a reason for them to be refused treatment or – in some cases – resuscitation,” she said.
Concerning drop
Lord Darzi’s report on the NHS in England highlighted the “particularly concerning drop in the number of learning disabilities nurses”, and the need to investigate further the wide disparity in life expectancy for people with learning disabilities.
In mid-December, the UK government proposed a 2.8% pay uplift for NHS nursing staff. The RCN said this offer would “further deter” people from joining the profession and becoming learning disability nurses.
Instead, the union is calling for the government to show “unparalleled ambition in re-imagining learning disability nursing in the modern world” and has said that support for regional action is needed to address the workforce crises.
