Learning Disability and Autism Awareness

These will allow pharmacy teams to develop good standards of communication and accessible care to improve their practice.

An understanding and awareness of the particular challenges and issues related to people with a learning disability and autistic people will be key to developing all pharmacy related services and improving health and wellbeing:

General awareness:

• NHS England Learning disability and autism - awareness about priority work related to improving health of people with a learning disability and autistic people. This can help you to develop local and neighbourhood services for people with a learning disability
• Webinar from RPS on learning disability and autism to raise awareness of what we mean by learning disability and autism, the health inequalities people face and tips to help with providing inclusive services. You can use this to reflect on your own practice and share awareness with colleagues. Also has links to further information
• Pharmacy’s role in reducing health inequalities for people with a learning disability and autism.

Training:

• Learning Disability Hub Centre for Postgraduate Pharmacy Education (CPPE) Learning disabilities: CPPE is free to access for all pharmacy professionals and can be used as part of revalidation. It demonstrates you are improving your knowledge and skills to remain on the pharmacy register. It will help you to learn about what it means to be a person with a learning disability and adapt your communication style. You will be aware of the range of accessible resources and how they can be used in practice. It will help you to understand your role in promoting physical, mental and behavioural wellbeing in people with a learning disability as well as to understand how to adapt your practice to ensure excellent medicines optimisation in people with a learning disability
• The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism - e-learning for healthcare enables you to have the right skills and knowledge to provide safe, compassionate and informed care to autistic people and people with a learning disability. It will support you in your interactions with people and their families. (Access limited to NHS health or care organisation (registration required).

Specific pathways, programmes of work and resources

Mental Capacity

This section will help you if you are involved with undertaking mental capacity assessment, in asking whether a person needs a mental capacity assessment, and in asking about and referring to best interest decisions.

• Mental Capacity Act - Social care and support guide - NHS provides an overview of the Act and responsibilities.
• NHS England Guidance to support implementation of the Mental Capacity Act in acute trusts for adults with a learning disability is recent guidance for acute trusts
• Easy read information about Mental Capacity Act.

Reasonable adjustment digital flag

This section will ensure pharmacists know their responsibilities within the digital flag, that they know how to use it and to ensure they are making reasonable adjustments whenever needed. You can also check if your workplace is meeting the criteria in the checklist.

• Understanding Reasonable adjustments
• NHS England » The Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag action checklist
• Reasonable Adjustment Digital Flag - elearning for healthcare - access limited to NHS health or care organisations (registration required).

Specialist Pharmacy Services

• Addressing medication safety inequalities across the system – SPS - Specialist Pharmacy Service – the first stop for professional medicines advice, this uses a number of films to address inequality issues including medicine safety, health inequalities, STOMP and STAMP and reasonable adjustments.

Health and Care Passports

This section provides an overview of the passport, supporting pharmacists to ask the person if they have one and if they would be okay to show it to the pharmacist, and also providing information on how to get one.

• NHS England Health and care passports is designed to be a quick and easy way for a person to give health and social care professionals more information about their needs, choices, communication and reasonable adjustments.

LeDeR

This section will help pharmacists understand the health inequalities people with a learning disability and autistic people face and the impact of these.  

• NHS England Learning from lives and deaths – People with a learning disability and autistic people (LeDeR) - an annual report of the lives and deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people.

NHS Futures (free but requires registration)

• STOMP and STAMP - Futures - this is dedicated to highlighting and developing good practice relating to the most appropriate use of medication in people with a learning disability and autistic people. It includes links to training webinars, resources, reports and access to a community of practice, to ask questions and share good practice
• Personas for people with learning disability - printing (MedSIP March 2025) - Medicines Safety Improvement Programme - Futures - sets the lifestyle, environmental and personal issues faced by people with a learning disability with varying needs through four case profiles. It is useful to focus discussion on adapting communication, making reasonable adjustments and approaching medication related discussions.