AHPs offer in learning disability settings explained

What can AHPs offer in learning disability settings? 

Allied health professionals (AHPs) are the third largest clinical workforce in the NHS: 185,000 AHPs in 14 professions are working across the spectrum of health and care. 

What are the role of AHPs in services for people with learning disabilities? 

Some AHPs  are employed in health and care services and diagnose, treat and support individuals to understand the physical, emotional, sensory and environmental challenges, that can be associated with their learning disability. 

Why are AHPs important? 

Over 1.2 million people in England have a learning disability and face significant health inequalities compared with the rest of the population. 

The NHS Long Term Plan describes AHPs as playing a central role in the delivery of person-centred care to help meet the changing demands the NHS is facing. AHPs are seen as intrinsic to improving public health, care and can also significantly support the demands facing the NHS.  

AHPs are the key to transforming health, care, and wellbeing. AHPs work in partnership with the person, the multidisciplinary team, and local communities to optimise and maintain the person’s mental and physical health, function, and quality of life. They also address and challenge health and social inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities. 

What are the role of AHPs in specialist practice for people with learning disabilities? 

AHPs work across the lifespan of people of all ages from children to the elderly. They work with people to improve their health and wellbeing.

They help reduce the barriers to living an independent life and support the person to live a fulfilling life.

Other AHPs within learning disabilities settings work alongside the individual and their support network. They get to know a person's strengths and needs, help prevent illness, and ensure that the individual lives a full and active life. AHPs can work with people at home, in their social circles, at school, at work, or in hospital settings.

• Arts therapists (music, art and drama) - offer access to psychological therapies that are not solely reliant upon verbal communication. Creative, interactive, sensory, and engaging approaches are used such as art, role play, and the power of music to assist people to express their thoughts and feelings in a safe therapeutic environment.
• Chiropodists/podiatrists - support people to remain active through enhancing and preserving mobility and lower limb health. They advise and support people to reduce their risk of suffering from foot and lower limb complications, whether structural, joint or gait complications which can result in reduced or restricted mobility.
• Dietitians - assess, diagnose, and treat nutritional problems. They provide a range of dietetic interventions including nutritional support, enteral feeding, weight management, and management of constipation. They work with the person and their support network to help them better understand nutrition and their health.
• Occupational therapists - enable people to be involved in everyday activities they find difficult and support their independence and achievement of their life goals. They develop partnerships with other service providers to ensure people with learning disabilities have access to education, work, and leisure opportunities.
• Orthotists - support by providing splints, braces and special footwear that modify the structural or functional characteristics of the patient’s neuro-muscular and skeletal systems enabling patients to mobilise, eliminate gait deviations, reduce falls, reduce pain, and prevent, correct, or accommodate a deformity.
• Physiotherapists - provide specialist assessment, treatment, and management. They work in collaboration with the person, their network of care, mainstream health services, and the multidisciplinary team to enhance, optimise and maintain the person’s physical presentation, function, and quality of life.
• Speech and language therapists - support the person to develop communication skills for independence, choice, and inclusion. People with learning disabilities are at higher risk of dysphagia (eating, drinking, and swallowing difficulties) and SLTs play a vital role in assessing and providing recommendations to reduce the risk of chest infections and choking.

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