Adult Learning Disabilities - Annual Health Checks Implementation Group minutes: April 2025

Attendees and apologies

• Scottish Government Officials
• Representative for NES
• Representative for NHS Dumfries and Galloway
• Representative(s) for NHS Fife
• Representative for NHS Forth Valley
• Representative NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde 
• Representative(s) for NHS Grampian
• Representative for NHS Highland 
• Representative for NHS Tayside
• Representative for NHS Western Isles 

Apologies:

• NHS Ayrshire & Arran
• NHS Borders
• NHS Lanarkshire 
• NHS Lothian

Items and actions

Welcome and introductions

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting.

Updates from Scottish Government

SG Officials updated on the remit of the group moving forward, acknowledging previous discussions and feedback from members. It was recognised that the changes aim to strike a careful balance within the group, taking into account the different rates of progress and the spread of different roles and responsibilities represented from boards.

The work of the group will focus primarily on the operational delivery of Annual Health Checks, including problem solving, practice sharing and providing peer support to members. This will enable more of the strategic issues arising, to be identified and escalated via existing pathways within the SG Mental Health Directorate in an effort to highlight and resolve these issues with the relevant people.

Additionally, a national Annual Health Check workplan is currently being finalised and will be shared with the group when complete. 

The group will continue to meet on a monthly basis, however these arrangements will be reviewed regularly along with feedback from members. 

National Data Collection Survey

SG officials highlighted that as per the reporting requirements in the Directions the next national data collection will be issued soon and returns should be with the SG by the end of May 2025. The statistics will be published once this data collection is complete, to increase transparency, the figures will be broken down by board area. 

Peer support

SG officials highlighted that members of the group are invited to attend the peer support sessions that have been set up by NHSGGC every 8 weeks.

Data update 

Officials provided a brief update from the Data Programme Board on work to improve the use of Key Information Summaries for people with learning disabilities, adding that recommendations around this will be incorporated into the GP guidance. This guidance will be disseminated via SG regular communications with GPs nationally. 

Work is also ongoing to raise awareness of the importance of coding and being on the learning disabilities register, we are keen to improve the knowledge and understanding of people with lived experience and their families and carers around coding and the registers and will be delivering a presentation on this at the Assembly conference in May.

Any other business

NHS NES Podcasts

NHS NES representative reported on the development of a podcast series on a variety of topics related to health and health care inequalities experienced by people with learning disabilities, including on annual health checks. 

Moving forward NES are looking to include podcasts with staff who are delivering annual health checks from different health board areas alongside people with learning disabilities and practitioners. Others will focus on raising awareness of clinical competencies related to Annual Health Check delivery and another on the ‘5 questions’ – helping to understand level of learning disabilities. 

Members of the group were invited to submit any ideas for content that they would find useful and updates on podcast will be added to future meeting agendas.

Members highlighted work they are doing locally to gain improved understanding of the LD nurse role in a bid to increase engagement across the different fields of nursing to work with people with Learning Disabilities. Nursing representatives in the group reflected on their own motivations and experiences.

SG official highlighted that the Scottish Learning Disability Nurse Network will be hosting their annual conference 6 June at Edinburgh Napier University. They are inviting group members to contribute to a coproduced presentation with people with lived experience on Annual Health Checks. 

NHS Education (NES) representative requested that materials that are being sent out as part of the delivery of Annual Health Checks be shared with NHS NES so that they can be added to the TURAS page. 

Date of next meeting

Thursday 15 May 2025.