Mencap at 80: only one in 10 adults with learning disability reach 80

Mencap has marked its 80th birthday with new research showing a sharp gap in life expectancy for adults with a learning disability. Only one in 10 live to 80, compared with more than 50% of the general population. The charity used the milestone to call for action on health inequalities and to press for everyone to have the chance to live life to the full.

The figures came from King's College. They reveal a huge disparity in both access to and quality of health care. The Department of Health and Social Care called the situation unacceptable. It said it is rolling out mandatory training for staff to provide safe and informed care.

At the anniversary event, Mencap's work supporting people with a learning disability and their families across the UK was celebrated. One guest, Jeffrey, had also recently turned 80. He has a learning disability and has had a long career in factories and in a department before now working with Mencap. He said he was over the moon to reach 80. Asked for his secret, he cited exercise, writing and going for a walk with someone.

The event also put the inequality in personal terms. Reheman Begum, who uses eye-gaze communication, said she wanted disabled people to be loud and proud in every environment. She said there should be no more being invisible and forgotten, and no more making do. Another message from the event said some areas provide good chances while others do not because of funding. The speaker said they wanted a world where everyone with a learning disability is treated the same as everyone else.

Mencap's new five-year plan aims to tackle health inequalities and give everyone the chance to live life to the full. Questions at the event focused on who is responsible for health inequalities and avoidable deaths. The response was that responsibility is shared across society and the health system. General practitioners need to ensure people with a learning disability are on the learning disability register. Local health systems need to take account of their needs. Doctors were also urged not to talk to a carer instead of the person themselves, and not to see only the learning disability rather than the real illness.

The campaign for better support received royal backing. A royal figure offered birthday greetings and praised Mencap for giving people with a learning disability a voice and a platform, and for giving them agency to decide their own futures. Mencap's charity shops were also highlighted as part of its public profile.

The anniversary is a milestone for the UK's leading charity for people with learning disabilities and their families. But the research shared alongside it shows that reaching 80 remains far from guaranteed for many people with a learning disability. The charity and campaigners say the health system must do more to close the gap.