The third annual report of the English Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) programme has just been published. It presents information about the deaths of people with learning disabilities aged 4 years and over notified to the programme from 1st July 2016 – 31st December 2018. A particular focus is on deaths for which a review was completed during the last calendar year (1st January – 31st December 2018).
You can view and download the report here:
Some of the findings include:
• The LeDeR programme has been told about 4,302 people with learning disabilities who have died.
• The average age at death for people with learning disabilities who died was 59 years old.
• Women with learning disabilities are dying 27 years younger than the general population.
• 62% of people with learning disabilities died in hospital. This is much higher than in the general population.
• People mostly died from: Pneumonia, Aspiration Pneumonia, Sepsis, Dementia, the heart not getting enough blood, and epilepsy.
• Only one third of reviews said that the person had received the best possible care.
• Only 48% of deaths reviewed in 2018 received care that met or was better than good practice.
• 71 adults with learning disabilities received care so bad that it made them unwell or caused their death.