Key points * This article describes the growth of a health screening template for GP practices to garner up information on the health lacks of people with learning difficulties and their take-up of mainstream healthcare services.

Key points

* This article describes the growth of a health screening template for GP practices to garner up information on the health lacks of people with learning difficulties and their take-up of mainstream healthcare services.

* Similarities with now passing generic screening mean that staff can more easily absorb it as part of their everyday work.

* The tool has considerable potential benefits for primary care trusts and others collecting national information forward health screening.

In November 2003 a form into groups was established as part of the devise to set up health action plans for tribe with learning difficulties in Norfolk. The collection was asked to find a way for GP to be able to identify all persons with learning difficulties registered in their practices. This was a guide target outlined in the Valuing folks strategy (Department of Health, 2001)

The cluster was made up of the author, a doctor from the learning difficulty service and the primus facilitators from the six primary care trusts. These persons work with the GP computer bodys and collect information required from the trusts and other organisations like the Healthcare Commission about the health distresss of the local population. The information is set into the computers using a series of digests called READ codes. We anticipateed at all the codes onward the system that could exhibit that a person has a learning difficulty. There were through the whole extent of twenty different codes. After any discussion it was agreed that we would use single in kind code 1 3Z4E - learning difficulty.

We then shared ideas about what other information would be important to know about the health of folks with learning difficulties. We agreed that we would like to know:

* to what degree many people have been presented health action plans?

* by what mode many people have refused health action plans?

* Have they been giveed health screening?

* Have the health action plans been reviewed?

There was no way of collecting this information with the current system so a plan was submitted to the NH Information Authority asking for additional digests In July 2004 four modern codes were added which means we can now monitor health screening and health action plans proffered to people with learning difficulties. These digests (see Table 1, overleaf) are available for use from every GP practice in the UK

We then gazeed at how we could monitor the health necessitys of people with learning difficulties compared to the stay of the population in areas of the like kind as coronary heart disease, cancer, epilepsy and the pause of the national service frameworks. It was important to obtain a picture of how these lacks are being met and where the difficulties are occurring when the public try to access mainstream health services.

The tool

New the public were asked to join the collection including the health care coordinators who are leading the work onward health action plans, community learning disability feed at the breasts and practice nurses. It was felt that a profitable way of assessing and monitoring the health indigences of people with learning difficulties was by means of offering a health screening appointment. This would help identify actions for the health action plan. It would also help practice staff to be more aware of the health needinesss of people with learning difficulties, and give them the opportunity to direct folks to the right services.

The collection agreed that they wanted to exhibit a health screening tool, which would:

* establish a comprehensive combination of parts to form a whole for monitoring all aspects of the health of the public with learning difficulties

* provide a ended assessment of health needs which would enable the health facilitator to consummate the health action plan with the part with a learning difficulty

* show opportunities to measure the inequalities of service provision and help to contribute to service improvement.

We contemplateed at examples of health screening tools used on GP practices in Norwich. The areas secreteed in these screening tools included:

* height, weight and line pressure

* sexual health screening (cervical, testicular)

* immunisations

* disease registers (coronary heart disease, epilepsy, respiratory disease)

* family history.

We wanted to use a similar tool still one that would also include clew health need areas identified in research as being pass overed for people with learning difficulties of the like kind as feet, eyes, hearing and teeth

Working with the primus facilitators a screening tool was devised. It allows the practice pampers to assess health needs and direct folks to other services such as opticians and dentist. The practice can gather information about the person's social history, the support they ne and establish whether the individual has been offered a health action plan and has a health facilitator. It also provides a record of any actions that ne to be addressed. Thus the practice has an electronic version of the health action plan that can readily be kept updated. They will also be able to retain important information about aspects of a person's life that can affect their health of the like kind as change in home circumstances.

The practice promotes feel that as this tool is similar to single in kinds they have used previously, they will be able to carry not at home effective health screening for family with learning difficulties with minimal support from specialist services. This is important if we want to make secure that people with learning difficulties are included in mainstream primary care.