Across Kent and Medway, learning disabilities nurses work in every part of the system, community, acute, mental health, forensic services, CAMHS, social care, and beyond. They are often the people who connect services, advocate for individuals, and make the system work for people with learning disabilities.

In February 2026, more than 35 professionals came together to share their experience. What they told us was clear:

Learning disability nursing is vital, but the workforce is under pressure, not always visible in decision-making, and at risk if we do not act together.

From that work, several recommendations were made to Chief Nurses across Kent and Medway. One of the strongest messages was the need for a shared, collective professional voice.

A new opportunity

We are now creating a Kent and Medway Learning Disability Nursing Shared Decision Making Council.
This will be a space where learning disability nurses can come together across organisations and roles to:

• share insight and lived experience from practice
• influence local and system-level decision-making
• support Chief Nurses with advice and professional leadership
• strengthen collaboration and consistency across Kent and Medway

This approach aligns with the national Shared Decision Making Council model, which recognises that leadership should be collective and that every nurse has a valid voice.

Who can get involved?

We are inviting expressions of interest from:

• all registered learning disability nurses
• working in any role, band, or setting
• across any organisation in Kent and Medway

We particularly welcome interest from colleagues from underrepresented groups and different parts of the system to ensure the council reflects the full diversity of the profession.

What to expect

• voluntary role
• virtual meetings every 2 months
• around 1 to 1.5 hours per session
• opportunity to shape the future of the profession locally

Why this matters

The report highlighted that without learning disability nurses, there are clear risks, including missed diagnoses, poorer outcomes and widening inequality.
This council is a practical step to ensure that does not happen and that the voice of the profession is visible, heard and valued.

Get involved

If you are a learning disability nurse working in Kent and Medway and want to be part of this, we would really like to hear from you.
Please complete the Expression of Interest form here:

https://forms.office.com/e/3JVNTNQd2f

Launching during Learning Disability Week
Be part of something that will shape the future of our profession

Free 8 Week Nature-Based Health & Nature Sessions – Folkestone!
East Kent Mencap are offering a free 8 week Nature-Based Health & Wellbeing Programme to adults with learning disabilities and neurodiverse people who wish to improve their mental wellbeing. The course will start 30 June – see poster for more details including a phone number for more details!

People with learning disabilities face serious health inequalities. RNLDs are essential to addressing them — yet specialist posts are disappearing, and fewer people are training as learning disability nurses.

The RCN is publishing a review on the field. This free one-hour webinar, presented by Jonathan Beebee, will examine the findings and the actions being called for.

Thursday 25 June | 12:00–13:00 | Online | Free

Register here 👉 https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/rcn-learning-disability-nursing-review-tickets-1988481002206

Please share widely with colleagues, students, and anyone interested in learning disability care and support.

Today, 12 May 2026, LOUD wrote to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Wes Streeting MP, to raise urgent concern about the continued inaction to confront the loss of the RNLD skill set from the workforce in the South East of England.

LOUD is an Expert by Experience group at Canterbury Christ Church University, made up of people with learning disabilities who work alongside health professionals and academics to improve education and research. Many of you in this community will recognise the issue immediately. No universities situated in our region are currently training new learning disability nurses. There is no workforce commissioning in place to rebuild the pipeline. The consequences are already being felt.

LeDeR data tells part of the story — women with a learning disability still dying 23 years earlier than the general population, with around half of all deaths deemed avoidable. But our letter puts member voices at the centre:-

• People being refused access to a learning disability nurse during hospital admissions.
• People falling between services with no clinical ownership.
• People unable to raise complaints through inaccessible routes. 

Our three asks of the Secretary of State are a workforce review focused on the South East, a dedicated workforce strategy with Kent and Medway as a named priority, and reinstatement of the expectation that every NHS hospital and GP surgery has access to a qualified learning disability nurse — not a social prescriber.

The letter is copied to all 18 Kent and Medway MPs. Both a full letter and an Easy Read version can be found below.

We have asked for a response ahead of Learning Disability Week, 15–21 June. We will share any reply we receive.

Daniel Marsden, Senior Lecturer, Canterbury Christ Church University Vanessa Cowley, Co-Chair, LOUD

Update from the co-chairs of the Timms Review outlining the next stages of the review and opportunities for disabled people, organisations and others to take part. The ‘Call for Evidence’ is open to responses until midnight on 28 May, and is available in a number of accessible formats. Please check out – Timms Review of Personal Independence Payment: call for evidence – GOV.UK if this is important to you, a family member or someone you support.