This report is a stark reminder of the profound inequalities in health and social care outcomes facing people with a learning disability and autistic people. It is indefensible that people with a learning disability still die, on average, almost 20 years earlier than the general population and are three times more likely to die from a condition which could have been treated. These are not just numbers; they are lives cut short.
SCIE has analysed the CQC’s reports of local authority performance and found that the Mental Capacity Act isn’t being applied consistently. This leaves people without the protections they are entitled to. The LeDeR report confirms these concerns. The lesson is clear: we must stop treating these failings as inevitable and start treating them as urgent priorities. What’s needed now is action.
We need government, commissioners, providers and frontline professionals to pull together to eradicate these inequalities and close the gap in life expectancy. That means delivering on the basics: ensuring social care packages genuinely meet people’s needs, the Mental Capacity Act is upheld in every case and high-quality care is accessible to everyone who needs it, when they need it.
Kathryn Marsden OBE (formerly Kathryn Smith)
Chief Executive of the Social Care Institute for Excellence (SCIE)