More training is needed in health care of people with learning disabilities

EDITOR-Leonard et al's editorial concerns heart and heart-lung transplantation in Down's syndrome. 1 Possible bias and discrimination towards people with a learning disability having access to a range of health screening and intervention programmes are increasingly being recognised. 2 Rationing or prioritisation should be open. Criteria should be agreed by all stakeholders, with no code of silence among the healthcare professionals and with evidence based decision making.

We believe that the root of the problem for people with a learning disability lies in the lack of quality structured training in medical aspects of these people's care in the medical curriculum. Learning disability is generally taught about from within psychiatry faculties, with relatively few hours allowed in pressured curriculums. As many medical undergraduates dislike psychiatry and fail to see...