Karen McKenzie and Hazel Powell examine the extent to which community learning disability nursing services in Scotland carry out routine health screening in conjunction with primary care teams

Government reports and practice documents have increasingly emphasised the need for primary healthcare teams and learning disability teams to work in tandem to provide good quality health care for people with learning disability. This culminated in two major reports. In England, the Valuing People White Paper (Department of Health 2001) identifies primary care services as the first point of contact for most people with a learning disability. It is also the point where important decisions about the person’s welfare and health are made.