At the 2023 Community of Practice Conference, Jonathan Beebee – Royal College of Nursing presented a challenging picture of the state of Learning Disability Nursing across the UK, specifically in the South East of England.

Being the only professional qualification associated concerned with the health and wellbeing of people with Learning Disabilities, the reduced opportunities to train as a Learning Disability Nurse and data indicating the current workforce is rapidly diminishing, presented a current and future concern to the Community of Practice. This has also been highlighted in a variety of reports such as:

Lord Darzi’s report cited here-  Learning disabilities: what Lord Darzi says should change | RCNi

The Nursing Times- ‘Decimated’ learning disability nurse numbers must be tackled | Nursing Times

And the NHS England » NHS Long Term Workforce Plan which states the goal of increasing training places for Learning Disability nursing by 46 %, by 2028/29.

In the South East, we are significantly impacted by limited access to Learning Disability Nursing programmes; with only 1 Higher Education Institute & the Open University currently providing a Learning Disability Nursing courses across the whole region. As a result, in October 2024 we created the:

“South East RNLD Workforce & Education Community of Practice” 

This collaborative project is facilitated by Daisy Hack (Learning Disability Nurse Development Lead – Sussex Partnership Foundation NHS Trust) and is supported by NHS England. 

To this end, we acknowledge the important role that Learning Disabilities Nurses can play in supporting people to live healthy, safe and fulfilled lives and as a consequence were keen to support Daisy Hack with this initiative.

The community is an opportunity for those affected to come together in a professional space, to review current education & workforce challenges, share ideas/new initiatives and to influence change.

Meetings are held online on a quarterly basis in October, January, April & July. 

The Community of Practice is open to:

• Learning Disability representatives from NHS Trusts, Social Care, and Private, Voluntary & Independent providers.
• Higher Education Institutes, Integrated Care Board and NHSE representatives across the South East region, who have Learning Disability responsibility in their portfolio.
• Any individuals working in nursing workforce/education roles (members do not need to be Learning Disability registrants to attend).

Recent activity conducted by the Community includes a ‘Values Clarification Exercise’ to identify the ultimate purpose and future direction of the CoP. This has been a collaborative project that has provided stakeholders with opportunity to express their views, bring fresh perspectives and develop a shared mission. 

If you, or someone you know is interested in joining or would like more info please contact: daisy.hack@nhs.net