Have you ever felt like a burden on the NHS? This is a question faced by many disabled people, especially those with learning disabilities, whose experiences within the healthcare system reveal ongoing challenges and systemic shortcomings.
Voices from People First: The Experience of Being Overlooked
People First, Scotland’s national Disabled People’s Organisation (DPO) for adults with learning disabilities, recently shared the poignant reflections of one of their anonymous members who is currently an NHS inpatient:
“NHS care for adults with learning disabilities is at best, sub-par and at worst neglectful. We are seen as ‘other,’ like we are not quite human beings, and this means we are somehow less deserving of the same dignity, respect, and quality of care as everyone else. Having an intellectual impairment does not mean that we are unable to understand our needs, express our wishes or make choices about our care. Everyone has the right to be listened to, valued and supported in ways that allow effective communication and full participation in decisions that directly affect them.
The NHS must invest time, training, resources and funding to fully embrace us, support us appropriately and respect our right to be included and respected. This is our fundamental human right.”
Baroness Casey’s Findings Highlight NHS Failings
Baroness Louise Casey’s recent review into adult social care found stark issues within the NHS’s treatment and care for people with learning disabilities. She noted that some health professionals see caring for them as a “burden” and “do not see them” or “hear them.”
Her findings, reported by ITV News, illustrate troubling examples, such as a 70-year-old woman placed on a general ward after a stroke but denied access for her carers – the only people able to communicate with her clearly.
Health inequalities for people with learning disabilities persist, with significantly shorter life expectancies than the general population — a reality that is unjust rather than inevitable. The NHS system is not currently structured to provide adequate care and support for this community, as evidenced by data from the Scottish Government’s Population Health Framework and the Scottish Government’s vaccination programme assessments.
Concerns Over the Abandonment of the LDAN Bill
In a move met with disappointment by disabled people’s organisations, the Scottish Government confirmed it will not proceed with the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill. This legislation, developed over five years with extensive input from disabled people sharing lived experience and trauma, has been shelved in favour of “policy reform and targeted investment” without statutory accountability.
As activists highlighted in The Herald and other media, this decision leaves disabled people exposed to inconsistent political priorities:
“They asked for our trauma. Then they scrapped the Bill.”
Why Social Care Accountability Matters
Inclusion Scotland warns against plans announced in the 2026-30 Programme for Government to make social care support accountable to Health Boards. This shift could lead to the dominance of the medical model of disability, which focuses on “fixing” the person rather than addressing barriers in society and supporting independent living.
Disabled people’s organisations and carers were notably absent from early discussions on replacing the current fourteen territorial Health Boards with two strategic boards, despite their essential lived experience.
The medical model tends to prioritize hospital efficiency — asking “How do we get this person out of hospital faster?” — whereas the social model asks, “What support does this person need to live a good life in the community?”
Real Impacts on Disabled People in Hospital
The consequences of this approach are seen daily in Scotland’s hospitals. As of December 2025, 68 people with learning disabilities and complex needs were delayed in hospital, with nearly half having been there for over ten years, according to the Coming Home Action Plan 2026.
Disabled people often experience deterioration while in hospital—losing weight and independence—because social care support is paused during admissions. Many hospitals lack the training, equipment and staffing needed to meet disabled patients’ personal care needs, contributing to poorer health outcomes and distress.
Calls for Inclusive Reform and Meaningful Participation
Inclusion Scotland’s Manifesto for Inclusion 2026 calls for the removal of restrictive eligibility criteria for social care, a right to needs satisfaction, and the involvement of disabled people and their organisations at every level of decision-making.
Chief Executive Heather Fisken said:
“Disabled people have been demanding these changes for decades, only to have commitments revoked, policies scrapped or inadequately implemented. That’s the pattern. Promises made. Promises broken. Disabled people left waiting.”
The Urgency for Change
Baroness Casey’s review reveals a system with “a one-track mind,” ignoring the rights, dignity and voices of disabled people. Visitation and advocacy in hospitals are crucial to ensuring that social care support continues seamlessly during health care episodes, yet care remains inconsistent.
Inclusion Scotland has been invited to advise on hospital visitation guidance later this year and continues to push for recognition of disabled people as equal partners in health and social care reform.
It is vital that disabled people are seen, heard and placed at the heart of services designed to support them.
Written by Maia Pace, Policy and Research Officer, Inclusion Scotland.
If you are a member of Inclusion Scotland and would like to discuss any themes from this article, please email: Research@inclusionscotland.org.