Published on: 17 June 2026
The Trust has launched a new video to encourage more people with a learning disability to come forward and sign up to the Learning Disability Register with their GP. 
To coincide with Learning Disability Awareness Week, Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust has released the short video featuring members of staff who have a learning disability, explaining the benefits of being on the register.
The Learning Disability Register is held by GP practices and helps identify patients who may need additional support to access healthcare. Being on the register can provide access to important benefits including annual health checks, health action plans and reasonable adjustments such as longer appointments or accessible information.
The launch comes at a time when increasing uptake of the register remains a national priority. Recent NHS data shows more than 340,000 people in England are currently recorded on GP learning disability registers, but many more people are estimated to be eligible.
The NHS is continuing to encourage more people - particularly young people from the age of 14 - to join the register to help tackle ongoing health inequalities experienced by people with a learning disability.
The Trust’s new video has been developed to clearly explain:
- What the Learning Disability Register is
- Why it is important
- How people can ask their GP to be added.
It also highlights how being on the register can support people to get the right care at the right time, improve health outcomes and ensure services are more accessible.
Jodie Cassidy, Strategic Health Facilitator for Adults with Learning Disabilities at Derbyshire Healthcare, said: “People with a learning disability continue to experience significant health inequalities, including lower life expectancy, making early identification and proactive care especially important.
“The Strategic Health team at Derbyshire Healthcare created the video as part of a development day. It is important that patients, families and carers watch the video and speak to their GP practice about joining the register if they think they may be eligible.”
Daniel Walmsley, Strategic Health Facilitation Assistant at Derbyshire Healthcare who took part in the video, said: “It is important people are on the learning disability register so they will get invited for their health checks, and doctors will know to send them easy read information or make reasonable adjustments for them.”
The video is available to watch on YouTube.
