Annual Health Checks - FOI Response Register

The Annual Health Checks for People with Learning Disabilities (Scotland) Directions place a duty on Health Boards to ensure that annual health check is offered to all people in Scotland aged 16 and over who have learning disabilities.

Please provide the following information about those checks:

1. The number of people with a learning disability that the health board recognises as eligible for a health check.

It has been identified that there are 233 eligible individuals, aged 16+ years old, who currently live in the Shetland Islands.

2. The number of people with a learning disability who have been offered a health check between 1st April 2023 to present date.

(I note the Scottish Government’s directions said every person with a learning disability should have been offered a health check by 31st March 2024).

No (zero) people with a learning disability have been offered annual health checks (AHC) at this point. The reason being is that staff to implement the AHCs had to be recruited, due to the low level of funding available, other funding streams had to be sourced to meet the staffing requirements and agreement had to be generated with the local GPs, who will have to support the AHC’s without additional payment.

3. The number of people who have received health check upon accepting an offer of one between 1st April 2023 to present date.

As stated above, no AHCs have been offered or carried out so far. However, 10 individuals with a learning disability who are eligible for an AHC have been identified as priority cases and will be seen by early December 2024.

4. The percentage of people the board recognises as having a learning disability who have been offered a health check at least once since the Scottish Government’s announcement in 2022 that stated every Scot with a learning disability should have been offered an annual health check.

In other words, the total number of people, in percentage form, since May 2022 [when the Government first announced annual health checks] to present date who, out of the number of recognised people with learning disabilities who are eligible for a health check, have received a health check.

As stated above, no AHCs have been offered or carried out at this point. However, the required staffing is now in place, agreement with the GPs have been confirmed, and a number of eligible individuals have been identified as priority cases to be seen within the next 8 weeks.