Universal health services are available to everyone. This means you do not always need a referral to use them.
If you have special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), these services will have to make reasonable adjustments for you to access them.
The MENCAP website explains about reasonable adjustments in Easy Read: Mencap website - About reasonable adjustments
Some services aim to support children and young people with conditions or needs that cannot be met by community health services alone. These are called targeted health services.
You usually need an assessment or referral to use a targeted health service. This could be from a:
- general practitioner (GP)
- health visitor
- social worker
- another professional
Useful links for further information:
- SEND Local Offer website - Health services for children and young people with SEND
- SEND Local Offer website - Health
- Independent Provider of Special Education Advice (IPSEA) website - Health care
Learning disability register
If your child or young person has a learning disability, they can be added to the learning disability register. You can request this at your doctor’s surgery.
Anyone of any age and any level of learning disability can join the register, even if they live independently and have little or no support.
By being on the learning disability register they will get extra support when they visit the doctors and could receive an annual health check once they are 14 years old.
Mencap provides more information on this:
- Mencap website - Everything you need to know about the learning disability register
- Mencap website - Annual health checks
Have your say on health services
Healthwatch provides information on health services and give you the opportunity to have your say about how services operate.