Primary health care provision for people with learning difficulties

Abstract

The health care needs of people with learning difficulties living in the community are in danger of being ignored. Discussion of such needs is inhibited by a fear of ‘remedicalization’, that is, returning to a domination of a medical model of health in the lives of people with learning difficulties. In a new synthesis of the literature, this paper reviews evidence that health care needs are not being met. It considers the potential for a more effective Primary Health Care (PHC) service through better interprofessional collaboration between Primary Health Care Teams (PHCTs) and Community Learning Difficulty Teams (CLDTs). The meaning of collaboration, in theory and practice, is explored, and the reasons it can be difficult to achieve are discussed. Finally, ways in which improvements in PHC for people with learning difficulties can be attained are suggested.