TY - JOUR T1 - Breaking the cycle of inequalities for people with a learning disability JF - British Journal of General Practice JO - Br J Gen Pract SP - 510 LP - 511 DO - 10.3399/bjgp22X720953 VL - 72 IS - 724 AU - Amy M Russell Y1 - 2022/11/01 UR - http://bjgp.org/content/72/724/510.abstract N2 - A woman with a learning disability is likely to die from similar causes to the general population, but on average 20 years earlier than a woman without a learning disability; a man with a learning disability is likely to die on average 13 years earlier.1 A learning disability is not a life-limiting illness and yet it continues to be associated with significant health inequalities.During the pandemic, adults aged 18–34 years with a learning disability were 30 times more likely to die of COVID-19 than young adults in the general population.2 Initial National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidance (NG159) categorised many people with a learning disability into frailty categories, lowering their prioritisation for emergency triage, a situation exacerbated by the use of ‘do not resuscitate’ notices, sometimes without consultation.3 It wasn’t until February 2021 that people with a mild or moderate learning disability were placed in the vaccination priority groups: until then, carers of people with a learning disability were being invited for vaccine before those that they cared for.Experience of this pandemic-related inequality and injustice has broken the fragile trust many people with a learning disability and their families had with the NHS.Change is coming: a new digital flag for reasonable adjustments on all summary care records (currently piloting) and the roll-out of the Oliver McGowan mandatory training on learning disability and autism for all health and social care staff.4 The Department of Health and Social Care will be publishing a Code of Practice for the training next year. In anticipation, there are changes that can be made now, in clinical practice and in the way we … ER -