Disabled people face difficulties in accessing primary care

doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7568.565

BMJ 2006;333:565 (16 September), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7568.565

News

Disabled people face difficulties in accessing primary care

Andrew Cole

London

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

People with mental health problems or learning disabilitieshave worse physical health and die younger than the generalpopulation, concludes a major investigation by the DisabilityRights Commission of Great Britain. But they are less likelyto get treatment, and most face difficulty in getting to seetheir GP.

The commission—the statutory watchdog body for disabledpeople in England, Wales, and Scotland—has warned thatif these discriminatory practices are not eradicated the governmentcould face prosecution under the new disability equality lawsthat come into effect in December.

Its 18 month investigation into primary care services took evidencefrom health professionals, policy makers, and disabled peopleand analysed eight million medical records.

The findings showed that:

People with mental health problems (including schizophrenia,bipolar disorder, and depression) have higher rates of obesity,smoking, heart disease, diabetes, respiratory disease, and strokethan the general population
People with bipolar disorder orschizophrenia . . . [Full text of this article]