– The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the difficulties patients with intellectual disabilities face when they present to a general hospital with ambiguous symptoms and highlights the importance of adequate training for general staff in caring for people with learning disabilities.
– The authors describe the pathway of a person with a learning disability and mental health problems from A&E, through a general hospital, to discharge and the problems encountered in terms of diagnostic clarity and subsequent treatment.
– Delay in recognising a psychiatric cause for his symptoms and wrongly attributing his symptoms to his learning disability may have led to a protracted admission and invasive tests.
– Education of healthcare professionals and proactive liaison work can help improve outcomes for people with intellectual disabilities when they are admitted to generic services.
