Evaluation will look at the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training for health and social care staff throughout England to see if it meets the needs of people with a learning disability and/or autism
The evaluation team (from left): Professor Nicola Mackintosh, Dr Jennifer Creese, Dr Joy Spiliopoulos, Dr Tom Morris, and Dr Sam Tromans
Researchers from the University of Leicester are to investigate whether the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training, introduced for health and adult social care staff following the death of autistic teenager Oliver McGowan is meeting the needs of people with a learning disability and/or autism.
They have been awarded nearly £809,000 from the National Institute for Health and Care Research (NIHR) to evaluate the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism Programme.
Oliver McGowan was autistic and had epilepsy, as well as a mild learning disability. He tragically died following a severe reaction to antipsychotic medication in 2016. The training is named in Oliver’s honour, highlighting the critical need for improved training for health and social care professionals.
The training programme is being rolled out to support the statutory requirement under the Health and Care Act 2022 for CQC-registered health and care providers, to ensure their staff receive specific training on learning disability and autism appropriate to their role.
It aims to improve the skills and knowledge of all health and social care professionals throughout England to provide safe, compassionate, and informed care to people with a learning disability and autistic people when they are using health and social care services.
Over the next three years, researchers from the University’s Department of Population Health Sciences will look into whether or not Oliver’s Training is being implemented correctly across England and measure its impact on patients as well as their family and carers.
Figures show that the average age of death is 62.9 years for adult males and females with a learning disability in England, compared to 86.1 years for adult females and 82.6 for adult males without learning disability in the general population, with 42% of deaths deemed avoidable, compared to 23% of the general population.
Avoidable deaths include deaths that were preventable through public health and primary care interventions, those that were treatable by timely and effective health care and preventable through good social care practice, such as enabling people to adopt healthy lifestyle habits and effectively seek timely medical help.
Dr Sam Tromans and Professor Traolach Brugha are leading the research.
Professor Terry Brugha
Dr Tromans, Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the University’s SAPPHIRE Research Group, which looks at understanding problems in healthcare quality and safety, to push for improvements, said: “We know that people with a learning disability and autistic people have an increased risk of mental and physical health conditions, and a significantly reduced life expectancy compared to the general population. Furthermore, people from these groups experience significant barriers to receiving equitable health and social care.”
He added: “I would like to pay tribute to the tireless campaigning of Paula McGowan OBE and Tom McGowan with regard to ensuring that health and social care professionals receive appropriate training to support people with learning disability and autistic people.”
Professor Brugha, Professor of Psychiatry in the SAPPHIRE Research Group, said: “In order to provide high standards of care across the board, it must take into account the needs of those people with a learning disability and autistic people. The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training programme aims to ensure this happens – our evaluation will show if it is being implemented properly and if it is making a difference to them and their families.”
Professor Nicola Mackintosh, Professor in Social Science Applied to Health in the SAPPHIRE Research Group, added: “An important element of this project is to understand how the training fits within a real-world context, and to identify the factors that support meaningful implementation across multiple organisational levels. This will help us ensure sustainable impact and transferable learning to other improvement initiatives centred on enabling staff to support people with a learning disability and autistic people.”