Every individual with a learning disability should be offered a Health Action Plan (HAP) as an outcome of their annual health check. HAPs are a way to record discussions about health goals and outcomes during your Annual Health Check. They will also help you measure progress and should be printed by your GP and stored in your ‘Purple Folder’. They are a good way of sharing this information with everyone who will be supporting that person, providing consistency to a person’s care.
The Health Action Plan should have actions for the person and the people supporting them as well as health services. Staying healthy and reducing delays in diagnosis is a 365 days a year activity. Everyone should have the relevant tools in the Stay Health at Home Check list as part of their care and support plan. www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/stayhealthyathome
Successful communication during an individual’s end of life is vital to ensuring a high quality of care and using a HAP can play an important role when used effectively. To ensure all essential information is included, specific planning around end-of-life care should be included in the plan and shared with all professionals and carers. If support is required regarding this, contact your local community learning disability team for advice.