Health and Care of People with Learning Disabilities, Experimental Statistics 2021 to 2022

A significantly smaller proportion of patients with a learning disability had a breast cancer screening test in the years 2017-18 to 2021-22 compared to patients without a learning disability. The percentage point difference between the two cohorts has remained steady at 14.6 on average.   

The percentage of patients with a learning disability who had a breast cancer screening test in 2021-22 was 47.2. The percentage of patients without a learning disability who had a breast cancer screening test in the same reporting period was 61.9. 

Patients must give their consent to the screening procedure - this is known as informed consent.

This indicator was introduced in 2020-21. It shows that in patients who have autism, there was a significant difference in breast cancer screening rates between patients who have a learning disability and those without. The percentage of patients who were female, aged 50 to 69 with autism and a learning disability who were screened for breast cancer was 38.5% compared to 53.8% of female patients aged 50 to 69 who have autism but do not have a learning disability.

A significantly smaller proportion of patients with a learning disability had a colorectal cancer screening test in the years 2020-21 to 2021-22 compared to patients without a learning disability. The percentage point difference between the two cohorts was 18.0 on average.  

The percentage of patients with a learning disability who had a colorectal cancer screening test in 2021-22 was 50.3. The percentage of patients without a learning disability who had a colorectal cancer screening test in the same reporting period was 66.8. 
 

This is a new indicator introduced in 2021-22 and shows that in patients who have autism, there was a 4.3 percentage point difference in colorectal cancer screening rates between patients who have a learning disability (53.2) and those without (57.5).