Safety recommendation
HSSIB recommends that NHS England ensures that the national learning disability improvement standards annual benchmarking survey for the care of people with a learning disability is continued for acute hospitals in order to help assure that local population needs are met.
Response:
In 2018 NHS Improvement in partnership with NHS trusts and people with lived experience, developed and published the Learning Disability Improvement Standards for NHS trusts.
The standards provide a structured framework to reduce unwarranted variations in patient experience and outcomes, across NHS services. The standards are based on metrics arising from several statutes and key national policies and require NHS trusts to measure compliance and where required, implement a range of improvement measures.
The data and learning from the standards are collected annually and supported via a comprehensive benchmarking exercise across all NHS trusts. This enables NHS trusts to identify both areas where improvements are required in addition to exemplars in service delivery.
The standards serve a vital function in both understanding and assuring local population needs and in response to the recommendation, NHS England will deliver the national learning disability improvement standards annual benchmarking surveys in 2024/25.
Response received on 2 February 2024.