Organised by the UK Learning Disability Nurse Consultant Network, this day provides a much-needed opportunity to profile a field of the nursing profession that is often overlooked and misunderstood, despite its vital role in health and social care.

Learning disability nurses are the only profession specifically trained at the point of registration to meet the unique needs of people with learning disabilities. Our work is diverse, specialist, and deeply person-centred. We enable access to health and social care, carry out specialist assessments to identify health needs, support individuals through behavioural challenges, and deliver bespoke interventions that promote independence and meet complex needs.

This advocacy, empowerment and expert care is essential to learning disability nursing.

Yet, despite the profound impact learning disability nurses have, this field of the profession faces serious challenges, and the Royal College of Nursing is deeply concerned about its future. 

Since 2016, the RCN has been campaigning on the workforce crisis facing learning disability nurses. Yet despite some action across the UK the crisis has worsened. A significant drop in student numbers, as well as a reduction in higher education institutions offering learning disability nursing programmes in England, is threatening the sustainability of this essential part of the nursing workforce.

In response to these concerns, the RCN has launched a Learning Disability Nursing Review – a UK wide initiative to celebrate and promote the identity of learning disability nurses. We’ll work with learning disability nurses across the UK to identify the unique strengths, challenges and opportunities within this field of nursing in different regions. 

This will ultimately help us improve learning disabilities nursing practice and ensure a sustainable workforce, so that people with learning disabilities receive the best standard of care, wherever they are in the UK.

We’ve already hosted a series of online workshops to collect insights from learning disability nurses – and thank you to all who joined and shared your insights.

If you’re a learning disability nurse but couldn’t join a webinar, you can still contribute your views by completing our survey. We’ll read and analyse all responses to identify key themes to inform our review and recommendations.

We need every registered learning disability nurse to take part in shaping the future of our profession. Your voice matters. Your experience matters. Together, we can ensure that learning disability nursing not only survives but thrives.

Let’s celebrate this incredible field of nursing and protect its future.