More hospital patients with learning disabilities will die if politicians do not tackle the “devastating collapse” in specialist nurse numbers , a leading charity and a union have warned. The number of specialist learning disability nurses working in the NHS has dropped by 44 per cent over the course of the Conservative party’s time in government, a new analysis by the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has revealed. The nursing union found a 36 per cent drop in applicants for specialist nursing degrees, while applicants are so low some universities have stopped funding courses altogether, according to a report shared exclusively with The Independent.
The RCN and the charity Mencap have warned specialist nurses are vital in keeping patients with learning disabilities in hospital safe, as they are trained to spot life-threatening illnesses, such as sepsis, which can present differently. The warning comes after The Independent revealed the harrowing story of Nicholas Thornton , a man with learning disabilities who has been locked away for a decade in inappropriate hospitals and care homes. Dan Scorer, head of policy at Mencap, said: “Learning disability nurses have that in-depth training and understanding about the complexity of how people with a learning disability can present, and about how they will show they are experiencing pain.
They’ve got vital expertise and insights to make sure that we don’t miss things.” He said the government must increase the number of tr.
