This morning, All Wales People First held a Zoom meeting to hear what people with learning disabilities think about Health and Social Care in Wales. Members of the Senedd want to know what is working well and what needs to change, and All Wales People First is collecting people’s views and will send them to the Senedd to help improve Health and Social Care services. People shared their own experiences and talked about what they think needs to improve. The main issues people talked about were:

🩺 Annual health checks are very important, and everyone should be supported to have one.
🧠 There are not enough mental health services for people with learning disabilities.
👩 Women’s healthcare needs to be better.
🔍 Some people with learning disabilities are not diagnosed properly or are not listened to.
📋 People do not always get the follow-up support they need after a diagnosis or treatment.
🦷 It can be very difficult to find an NHS dentist.
🤝 Some people felt their social worker was not giving them the support they needed.
📍 Many people have to travel too far for appointments because services are not available close to home.
⏳ Waiting times for appointments and treatment are too long.
💬 Better communication is needed between professionals and the people they support.
👥 More support workers

At the end of the meeting, everyone was asked to take part in a poll. Members were asked to rank which Health and Social Care issues they thought were the most important.
The options were:

⏳ Waiting lists
🦷 Access to NHS dentists
🤝 Not enough social workers
🗺️ Different services available in different parts of Wales
💻 Digital systems and personal data
🩺 Preventative care, such as annual health checks
🏥 Hospitals being too far away
💙 Health professionals not understanding people with learning disabilities

⭐ The top priorities chosen by members were:
Health professionals understanding people with learning disabilities.
Preventative care, including annual health checks.
Hospitals and healthcare services being closer to where people live.

It was great to hear everyone’s lived experiences and ideas, and All Wales People First will collect all the feedback from these meetings and send it to the Senedd. Our hope is that the Senedd will listen to the feedback we provide, and make changes to improve Health and Social Care services for people with learning disabilities across Wales 💙