SLDNN Conference 2026

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Jul 28, 2026

Rapporteur John Clarke accompanied SCLD’s Development Worker, Cameron Smith, to this year’s Scottish Learning Disability Nursing Network conference in Dunfermline. They were there to promote Scottish Learning Disability Week 2026 and announce the theme of I am here to be seen.

John and Cameron were just one set of presenters on the day,with conference hearing from Learning Disability Nurses working across a wide range of settings including forensic, community, and education.

John explained why being seen by healthcare professionals as someone with a learning disability is crucial to getting the right support and treatment put in place. He shard his own experience of not having his needs recognised and why this demonstrates a need for standards of care, specific to people with learning disabilities, to be in place in hospital settings.

On average, people with learning disabilities die 20 years younger than the rest of the population.

 

Many of these deaths are avoidable.

 

Avoidable mortality in adults with learning disabilities | Scottish Learning Disabilities Observatory

This is why Health is one of the 8 Pillars of include For Good and is a key priority for the team in 2026 and 2027.

 

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