A leading international medic will tell a conference in Waterford today of a growing disparity between the health of those with intellectual disabilities and that of the general population.
Dr Michael Kerr, senior lecturer and honorary consultant in neuropsychiatry at the University of Wales's College of Medicine, has focused in his research on the health of people with learning disabilities and the quality of primary medical care.
He has also investigated the impact of pro-active health checks conducted within primary care and the efficacy of the prescription and withdrawal of medication.
With research evidence showing that the physical health of people with intellectual disabilities is worse than their peers in the general population, Dr Kerr will tell the 42nd annual conference of NAMHI (the national association for promoting the rights of people with intellectual disabilities) that this is due to difficulties in the identification and investigation of ill health in people with intellectual disabilities.
Other concerns to be highlighted by Dr Kerr include the challenge of treating people living in institutional environments which he says are "not conducive to good health".
He will also tell delegates and carers of the mixed abilities of people with such disabilities to understand and describe their own health needs and of the more complex ethical dilemmas such patients present to doctors.
Dr Kerr is expected to call for a health advocacy service to be introduced for people with intellectual disabilities and for a programme of annual health screening checks to be implemented.
As the 300 delegates attending the conference began to arrive in Waterford yesterday, Ms Deirdre Carroll, general secretary of NAMHI, said:
"It is ironic that in the year when Ireland hosts the Special Olympics World Games, the general health of people with intellectual disabilities is so poor.
"It is to be hoped that the publicity around the Special Olympics will encourage healthier lifestyles, but to simply approach this as an issue of healthy living would seriously underestimate the real causes of poor health and be a grave injustice to people with intellectual disabilities."
Among the motions to be addressed will come from groups in Dublin, Limerick and Cork expressing anger that the Special Olympics will be used as a photo opportunity for ministers who, they say, have "given no inkling of hope to families that additional funding will be made available to prevent cutbacks in services".