NEWS

Bild joins call for urgent action on overdue LeDeR report

Bild is among the signatories of a joint letter sent to Health Secretary Wes Streeting today, calling for urgent action to get the LeDeR programme back on track and help save lives.

LeDeR – Learning from Lives and Deaths: people with a learning disability and autistic people – reviews the health and care received by people with learning disabilities or autistic people after their death, aiming to identify lessons and improve services. The reviews, conducted by NHS Integrated Care Boards, are vital for tackling the stark inequality in life expectancy.

The latest LeDeR annual report is now nearly 8 months overdue. Originally due in November 2024, the Department of Health and Social Care has confirmed it will not be published until Parliament returns in September, 10 months after it was due to be published.

The NHS’s new 10 Year Plan, published this month, acknowledges that people with learning disabilities still die around 20 years earlier than others – a gap the LeDeR programme was created to address.

Autism Action, supported by bereaved families, campaigners and charities including Bild, is calling for the urgent publication of the LeDeR report and a review of the programme to ensure it delivers meaningful change for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

You can read the full letter and find more information at Autism Action.