A health drive has been launched on Teesside to improve the well-being of people with learning disabilities.
David Hamilton, a learning disabilities nurse with the Tees and North-East Yorkshire NHS Trust, is leading a team working with GP practices and hospital staff to help achieve a better deal for patients with such difficulties.
Sessions are being run to educate them in illness detection and health promotion and action plans have been introduced to help individuals achieve a healthy lifestyle.
Mr Hamilton said: "People who have learning disabilities are more likely to have negative experiences of hospital care and not have a particularly healthy lifestyle.
"This can be attributed to problems such as communication difficulties, insufficient support, and lack of skills and knowledge of the needs of people with learning disabilities from health care agencies.'
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