The Learning Disabilities Mortality Review – Annual Report 2018

This is the third annual report of the English Learning Disabilities Mortality Review (LeDeR) programme. It presents information about the deaths of people with learning disabilities aged 4 years and over notified to the programme from 1 July 2016 – 31 December 2018.

The methodology of the LeDeR review process is inclusive of families of those with learning disabilities and recommends that all families should have the opportunity to be involved in the review of their relative’s death from the outset. Over three-quarters (81%) of families were invited to contribute to the review of their relative’s death in 2018.

In the period under review, 4,302 deaths were notified to the programme. In 2018, this was approximately 86% of the estimated number of deaths of people with learning disabilities in England each year.

Key findings include:

• The proportion of people with learning disabilities dying in hospital is higher (62%) than in the general population (46%).
• Almost a half (48%) of deaths reviewed in 2018 received care that the reviewer felt met or exceeded good practice, slightly more than the 44% in the 2017 report.
• The proportion of deaths notified from people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) groups was lower (10%), than that from the population in England as a whole (14%). However, children and young people from BAME groups were overrepresented in deaths of people with learning disabilities.

Click below to download the report.