Loss of NHS specialist nurses will lead to deaths of people with learning disabilities, experts warn

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 training places available, and warned some universities have stopped courses altogether.

He added: “I think the government removing bursaries for nurse training was pretty devastating. The impact of that was really significant, and whilst that’s been partially reversed, it significantly impacted the undergraduate training capacity that was available.”

The charity said that as the number of learning disability nurses has “collapsed” to 3,095 in January 2024 from 5,498 in January 2010, the number of people with a learning disability has increased from 1.1 million to 1.3 million.

The NHS’s Long Term Workforce plan promised to increase the number of LD nurse training places from 543 to 1,089 by 2031, but it warned the shortfall in LD nurses would grow to 1,200 by 2036/37.

In May 2024 the NHS rolled out training for all nurses to improve skills when treating patients with learning disability and autism. The training was named after teenager Oliver McGowan, who died in 2016 while under the care of Southmead Hospital, after he was incorrectly given antipsychotic medication.

Some experts have said the training is not enough and that fully qualified specialist nurses are needed to protect patients in hospital and at home.

Speaking with The Independent Katy Welsh,  forum chair for the RCN Learning Disability Nursing, said: “I am aware that in some hospitals across the UK, there are no [learning disability] nurses.

“I think we definitely make a difference every single day for people with a learning disability and if we weren’t there then we would see an increase in the premature deaths of these patients.”

“I think regardless of whichever political party get in, they need to agree that there needs to be more investment in learning disability nursing, put your cards on the table, let us know what you can do, because we know that we need more, and we know that more people will die if we’re not there.”

Figures analysed by the RCN show universities are stopping the course and in some cases have very few applicants. For example, UCAS data shows that in the South East only five people were accepted into LD nursing courses in 2023 – 10 in the South East and 10 in the East of England.

RCN professional lead for learning disability nursing Jonathan Beebee said: “These figures are highly alarming. For decades the number of learning disability nurses has been decreasing – and now we’re seeing large sections of the country where there is the future prospect of no specialist nurse support for miles and miles. It is damning of the way people with a learning disability are being forgotten.

“The number of learning disability nurses has lowered to unacceptable levels – and we are even hearing about universities closing their courses. This dearth of support for one of society’s most marginalised groups is appalling.”

The Conservative and Labour parties were contacted for comment.