Cataract surgery in people with learning disabilities: A multidisciplinary approach

Patients with learning disabilities have a higher level of visual impairment compared with the general population. Cataract is a reversible cause of such impairment, but many barriers to surgery exist for patients with learning disabilities. The Equality Act 2010 requires organisations to make ‘reasonable adjustments’ in order for people with disabilities to access services. However, there is a distinct lack of literature on surgical outcomes and surgical planning strategies for this patient group. In this article, the authors discuss a multidisciplinary structured approach to caring for patients with learning disabilities who have visual problems relating to cataract and suggest reasonable adjustments that may help to develop pathways for enabling access to cataract surgery and reducing inequalities.