Learning disability community nursing team.

Evidence outlines that, on average, people with learning disabilities die earlier than the general population; on average 20 years earlier for women and 13 years earlier for men (Heslop et al, 2013). Two major contributory factors are that people with learning disabilities have a higher level of health inequalities, and when accessing health services people with learning disabilities are often disadvantaged owing to communication difficulties and physical barriers such as no hoisting facilities. Learning disability nurses strive to close the gap on premature deaths and improve the quality of life for people with learning disabilities, focusing on improving practice and services across health care. The Sutton nursing team forms part of the Sutton Clinical Health team for people with learning disabilities. The Sutton Clinical Health team is commissioned by the Sutton Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) and has been located within the London Borough of Sutton local authority since 2009. It has one nurse manager and four community nurses. The population of people with learning disabilities eligible for the service is approximately 900, registered across 27 GP practices. Brief history From 2001 to 2009 there were many changes to learning disability health services. This included separation from the neighbouring borough, resulting from the discontinuation of the Sutton and Merton Primary Care Trust. The new single-borough focus brought with it a new nursing team structure, which included a nurse manager.