Latest News for Parents & Carers

Mencap has partnered with Bradford People First to produce resources aimed to help young people with learning disabilities and their families, have a smoother transition from child to adult healthcare services. The guide, named ‘Hospital care for young people with a learning disability’ and video, has been created to support young people to feel confident to ask for things such as reasonable adjustments and meetings with health professionals. The guide and video can be downloaded from Mencap’s website.

According to reports, the number of children registered for home education in the UK rose by 75% between September 2020 – April 2021, compared to averages over the previous two academic years. Parents told the BBC that fears over their children’s health and learning had led them to choose to continue home educating after the schools reopened as a result of the pandemic. The Department for Educations says it ‘supports home-educating parents and plans to launch a registration system’.

England’s Chief Nursing Officer has issued a statement to remind the public that anyone accessing or visiting healthcare settings in Derbyshire must continue to wear a face covering and follow social distancing guidelines, despite Covid restrictions being lifted for the majority of settings in England last Monday. The rules apply to patients, visitors and staff and will remain in force in all healthcare settings including hospitals, GP practices, dental practices, optometrists and pharmacies until further notice.

The Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) has advised that as of Monday 19th July, vulnerable children at increased risk of Covid-19 are being offered the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine. This includes children aged between 12-15 with severe neurodisabilities, Down’s syndrome, immunosuppression and multiple or severe learning disabilities. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine is currently the only vaccine that has been authorised for children in the UK, for those aged 12 or older. The JCVI is not currently advising vaccination of children outside of these groups, until more research into possible side effects has been carried out.

The Government has confirmed plans to change mental health law in England and Wales, following calls from campaigners. The reforms could take a few years to come into force, as there will need to be a new law that will need to be voted on in Parliament. The need for the reforms was highlighted by new NHS data which was made available last week, which showed the number of mental health inpatients with Learning Disabilities and/or Autism in June 2021. The changes to the law could result in fewer autistic people being sent to mental health hospitals based on their diagnosis.