Action Plan

Action Plan

Action Plan

Public health problem

There is a broad acknowledgement within learning disabilities services that the general health of this client group is poor (Matthews 2002) and that care in the community has not met their day- to-day healthcare needs. This could be attributed to poor communication, inability to use facilities appropriately and primary health care teams lacking adequate knowledge and experience in learning disabilities. Research has found that the health deficits of people with learning disabilities fall below targets set out in Our Healthier Nation (DH 1998a), which identified key areas of health for improvement (Turner and Moss 1996).

People With Learning Disabilities

Good health care for people with a learning disability is a balance between achieving best possible health and reducing the barriers that ill health can impose. This balance involves the ability to assess and understand a person's needs, while delivering care that is appropriate to their needs, and treating them as effectively as possible (Kerr 1998), all of which would be achieved in an individual's health action plan.

Health action plans are not new. Fitton (1994) discussed the importance of individual plans and care books for people with a learning disability. She stressed that the care book is a valuable tool that could be used to empower people in communicating information about them and as a reminder, reference and guidance document for the person's carers. The DH is showing increased recognition of and support for the health needs of people with learning disabilities (DH 2001a, 2001b, 2002). Carers and professionals must therefore take this opportunity to use the many new resources available to develop health action plans and improve healthcare standards for this client group. Failure to do so may mean that the current era will be viewed as a succession of wasted opportunities in years to come.

Action plans

Health action plans are individualised and will vary from person to person. There is no set format but guidelines on application can be followed. A health action plan should detail the actions needed to maintain and improve the health of a person and any help needed to accomplish this (DH 2002). It is a tool that can be used to link people and the services and support they require to ensure good health. The functions and benefits of the plan are to identify health concerns and how to address them, while improving the involvement and co-ordination of services for the person. The health action plan acts as evidence that the person's service provider is working within the boundaries outlined in the Care Standards Act 2000.

The report Signposts for Success (DH 1998b) stated that up to 30 per cent of people with learning disabilities have associated physical disabilities and little or no functional speech, although they may have other means of communication. This emphasises the importance of a well written health action plan.

The role of the health facilitator is important to the smooth running and appropriateness of a person's health action ...