People with learning disabilities have a high chance of dying prematurely, interim figures from a major government survey suggest - and critics claim hospitals are unable to respond to learning disabled patients' needs.
In January 2009 Tina Papalabropoulos became ill. The 23-year-old, who had profound learning disabilities, had developed aspiration pneumonia - which meant food had got into her lungs.
Despite her mother Christine's repeated requests, it took several days before she was admitted to hospital.
Tina had received good care from Basildon Hospital while she was growing up, but when she had to transfer to the hospital's adult section, her mother was worried about the treatment she might get.
