Health Improvement Programme for
Doncaster 2000 - 2003

Strategic Direction

The strategic direction aims:

To ensure the provision of services which help people with learning disabilities achieve and sustain:

• The maximum independence in their lives
• Choice
• A community presence
• The opportunity to live as full a life as possible as citizens within the society as a whole
• Services to carers which are in line with the national strategy 'Caring for Carers'.

Target

As this theme is concerned with a particular section of the population rather than a disease group there are no specific quantitative targets that can be set.

General Commentary

Most of the service provision in Doncaster is targeted towards people with a Severe Learning Disability, often identified as having an IQ score of 70 or below. The population average for IQ is 100. Increasingly this method of identification of learning disability has failed to take into account the needs of those people with a higher score who for example are struggling in a parenting role, are involved in repeated petty offending or have related conditions such as Autism or Aspergers Syndrome.

The prevalence rate is thought to be about 3.75 per 1,000 population which would assume a population of about 1,095 in Doncaster. There are 912 people on the Learning Disability case register. Currently Health and Social Services are providing services to over 1,000 people. Additionally people with a learning disability often have associated difficulties for example epilepsy, physical disabilities, and significant impairment of hearing or sight.

The Government White Paper Modernising Social Services has set a number of priorities including improving independence, improving consistency and providing convenient user-centred services. It proposes a 'Fair Access to Care' initiative and also a 'Long Term Care Charter' which will make services easier to use and more tailored to individual needs. This will be a developing focus throughout the lifetime of this programme. Additional guidance is being prepared with regard to people with learning disabilities that will set out a National Service Framework.

Further information can be obtained by downloading the full text version of the Health Improvement Programme for Doncaster 2000 - 2003.

Any comments on this section should be submitted to the theme lead, Mr Peter Collier, Adult Services Manager, Doncaster Metropolitan Borough Council, The Council House, College Road, Doncaster, DN1 2DA email: Peter.Collier @doncaster.gov.uk