Tonight, a new OU/BBC programme, Panorama: Will the NHS Care for Me? airs on BBC1 at 20:00* and is available on BBC iPlayer.
In this programme, co-produced by the BBC and the OU’s Broadcast and Partnerships team, Line of Duty actor and campaigner, Tommy Jessop investigates why people with a learning disability are more than twice as likely to die from avoidable causes than the rest of the population. Tommy hears from relatives who have lost loved ones prematurely, and from a mother on whose behalf the BBC went to court so she could speak publicly about her fight to get lifesaving care for her son.
Dr Liz Tilley
Academic consultant Dr Elizabeth Tilley, Senior Lecturer in disability at the OU advised on the programme. Dr Tilley researches the lived experiences of people with a learning disability, both in contemporary society and in the past and is particularly interested in how research conducted in collaboration with people with a learning disability can help us to better understand and address the social and health inequalities people face.
Dr Tilley, commented:
“People with a learning disability are more than twice as likely to die from avoidable causes than the general population. The poor care and treatment many people receive, combined with negative attitudes towards learning disability, lie behind this dreadful statistic. The programme investigates the discrimination that many people with a learning disability face when receiving hospital care, which has led to so many tragic outcomes.
“While the Panorama programme investigates the discrimination faced by people with a learning disability in hospitals, research has shown that these inequalities in healthcare often begin long before someone steps through a hospital door. In our accompanying interactive, we highlight these wider inequalities, showing how the way many people with a learning disability are treated throughout their lives can have a significant impact on their health and wellbeing.”
*Panorama: Will the NHS Care for Me? airs on BBC1 Northern Ireland and BBC1 Wales at 22:40, and BBC1 Scotland at 23:40.
This programme was commissioned by Broadcast and Partnerships and is supported by the Faculty of Wellbeing, Education and Language Studies, with particular relevance to R39 BSc (Honours) Nursing (Learning Disabilities) and R26 BA (Honours) Health and Social Care
- Commissioned by Dr Caroline Ogilvie, Head of Broadcast & Partnerships
- Academic Consultant: Dr Elizabeth Tilley
- Media Fellow: Dr Erica Borgstrom
- Broadcast Project Manager: Clair Robinson
- Supporting online content: Chris Belson
Visit the OU’s Broadcast & Partnerships site, OU Connect where you can find an interactive which explores the wider challenges that people with a learning disability face in society and how this impacts their health.
