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Authors: Allgar, Victoria¹; Mir, Ghazala²; Evans, Joyce³; Marshall, Joyce⁴; Cottrell, David⁵; Heywood, Phil⁶; Emerson, Eric⁷

Source: British Journal of General Practice, Volume 58, Number 551, June 2008 , pp. 423-428(6)

Abstract:

Background

In 2001, a white paper set out a commitment to ensure that people with a learning disability receive equal access to health services, with an expectation that general practices would have identified all people with a learning disability registered with the practice by June 2004.

Aim

To outline the development of a template to create practice-based registers of people with learning disabilities in general practice.

Design of study

The study was prospective, employing a template to identify patients in general practice with a learning disability. The study used capture-recapture methodology to estimate the prevalence of learning disability in the population.

Setting

General practices in Leeds.

Method

A template was developed that uses Read code searches of practices' electronic medical records, along with practice knowledge to identify patients who have a learning disability.

Results

The tool was piloted in 30 general practices in Leeds and validated against a city-wide database of people with learning disability. There was a wide variation between the practices in terms of how many people were identified, with the average being 0.4% of the practice population. Combined with validation from the city-wide database, this increased to 0.7%.

Conclusion

The template provides a valuable tool for general practices to begin developing a practice-based register of patients with a learning disability. This is particularly timely in view of the revised General Medical Services contract Quality and Outcomes Framework indicator, stimulating practices to produce a register of patients with learning disability. Use of a common definition for learning disability is needed to improve consistency in identification across practices.

Keywords: general practice; learning disabilities; prevalence; register

Document Type: Research article

DOI: 10.3399/bjgp08X299272

Affiliations: 1: Hull and York Medical School, York 2: Centre for Health and Social Care, Institute of Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, University of Leeds, Leeds 3: Rothwell Health Centre, Leeds 4: Department of Health Sciences, University of York, York 5: Academic Unit of Psychiatry and Behavioural Sciences, University of Leeds, Leeds 6: University of Leeds, Leeds 7: Institute for Health Research, Lancaster University, Lancaster

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