The Probation Chiefs Association, Public Health England and Revolving Door Agency produce a briefing paper for Directors of Public Health suggesting positive actions and approaches which could be used to tackle the health inequalities of people in contact with the criminal justice system residing in their community.
One of the key issues highlighted was for those with learning disabilities…….the difficulties this population experiences in understanding creates barriers to accessing appropriate mainstream healthcare services.
We already know that there is a high percentage of the prison population have some level of communication difficulties. This disability will impact on their ability to communicate health issues and understand advice to improve their health.
The paper recognises there are discriminatory attitudes among health care staff, I would suggested that these ‘discriminatory attitudes’ are more accurately described as ‘limited understanding and knowledge of appropriate communication’. Basic training for professionals working with this population would greatly help the elimination of ‘discriminatory attitudes’ among health care staff.
Click here for the full report
