Learning Disability Liaison services in acute care: a rapid review of effectiveness, barriers, and facilitators

People with learning disabilities (LD) have a higher prevalence of health problems than in the general population across many health conditions. At the same time, they often face difficulties in accessing healthcare, experience many health inequalities, and are more likely to die of preventable causes than people in the general population. Learning Disability Liaison (LDL) services were established in the United Kingdom (UK) and the Republic of Ireland (ROI) to support patients with LD in accessing care. The services aim is to improve the quality of care delivery and ensure an equitable and safe service.This review summarises existing evidence from the UK and the ROI regarding the effectiveness of LDL services in improving health-related outcomes for people with LD in secondary care. The review also reports the barriers to and facilitators of implementing LDL services reported in published literature. The included literature was published between 2002 and 2025. 44 academic studies, organisational reports, and other types of literature were identified. Of these, 21 were academic studies from England, Scotland, Wales, and the ROI, and 23 were organisational reports or other types of literature. No studies assessed the effectiveness of LDL services in improving health outcomes for people with LD, but many focused on assessing the impact of LDL services on the care provided. Some evidence suggested that having LDL nurses was a facilitator of identifying patients with LD. Literature reported that LDL nurses facilitated provision of reasonable adjustments and potentially improved patients experiences with hospital care and their ability to access treatments, however, there was some literature that reported mixed or negative experiences. LDL nurses were sometimes described as playing an important role in preparing and sharing accessible information with patients and carers, facilitating communication between patients and carers and hospital staff, and preparing hospital passports for patients with LD. However, some literature reported that other hospital staff did not always consult hospital passports, making them ineffective. There was some evidence that employing an LDL nurse might be associated with reduced length of stay and readmission rates. The review identified barriers to implementation of LDL services, and also barriers to accessing these services.This review provides a broad overview of the functioning of LDL services, with wide-ranging types of outcomes and examples of practice. This can help in designing LDL services and allocating resources. The evidence on the barriers of implementing and accessing LDL services provides a useful resource for service providers seeking to implement or improve LDL services.There is a need for more independent research evaluating the effectiveness of LDL services, particularly in relation to health outcomes.