How one acute hospital responded to COVID-19 in people with learning disabilities
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

How one acute hospital responded to COVID-19 in people with learning disabilities

Serena Jones Learning disability acute liaison nurse, Royal Liverpool University Hospital, Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Liverpool, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To understand the vulnerability of people with learning disabilities to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19)

  • To find out about COVID-19-related deaths in patients with learning disabilities at one hospital

  • To enhance your awareness of the need to obtain more clinical awareness of the needs of the learning disability population

There is evidence that people with learning disabilities are more vulnerable to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) than the general population, but there is a need to understand better how COVID-19 has affected that patient group. This article details a retrospective comparison study exploring the response of one acute hospital to COVID-19 in the learning disability population.

A wide range of data were collected for the period between March 2020 and March 2021 about patients with learning disabilities, including admissions and deaths, do not attempt cardiopulmonary resuscitation (DNACPR) orders, ceilings of care and input from the learning disabilities acute liaison team. Data from the five years preceding the study were also collected. These data were compared with data about the general population, in the hospital and nationally.

The data show that there had been no significant increase in the number of deaths of people with learning disabilities at the hospital during the first 13 months of the pandemic. However, this could be because fewer people attended hospital and more died in the community. Wider and more in-depth investigation is needed to understand the factors that may increase the risk of COVID-19-related death for people with learning disabilities.

Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2022.e2168

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

Correspondence

serena.jones@rlbuht.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Jones S (2022) How one acute hospital responded to COVID-19 in people with learning disabilities. Learning Disability Practice. doi: 10.7748/ldp.2022.e2168

Published online: 31 March 2022

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