Jean Howieson describes how her research dissertation study revealed how to improve care outcomes for these patients

There is a wealth of literature on access to health care for the general population, but there is little knowledge about the experiences of people with learning disabilities accessing acute hospital services.

This article is based on the views of seven people with mild to moderate learning disabilities who took part in two focus groups in which they discussed their experiences of acute hospital services.

Three main themes were identified during the discussions:

Although the study was small, the findings resonate with current literature and add to the growing body of knowledge relating to acute hospital services and the needs of people with learning disabilities.