Dan Scorer of Mencap responds to a report on a survey in which NHS staff said they don’t have enough time for patients
It’s deeply concerning to hear that frontline NHS staff are feeling “moral distress” from having too little time to spend with their patients (Most NHS staff say they don’t have enough time to spend with patients, 24 July). It creates a worrying picture for people with a learning disability, who often need extra time for appointments and already struggle to access basic healthcare.
Our helpline regularly receives calls from families seriously worried about quality of care and feeling they need to be there to advocate for their loved one. We hear stories of people being left in incontinence pads rather than being supported to go to the toilet, or having medication and care plans changed without clear explanation. We know that people on specialised diets have been fed the wrong food, sometimes with tragic consequences that could have been avoidable if time was spent reading their hospital notes.
