Hippo Labs uses the official NHS England QOF Business Rules v50.0 to help practices maintain accurate learning disability registers. This ensures all eligible patients are correctly identified for annual health checks, care planning, and reasonable adjustments.
💬 Just a reminder: this indicator isn’t a clinical guideline — it’s an operational definition used for QOF measurement. It defines which patients appear on the register, how they are counted, and where gaps may occur.
📋 The Learning Disability Register (LD005)
The learning disability register includes all patients with a diagnosis of learning disability (LD) who do not have a subsequent exclusion code recorded.
Patients appear on the register if they:
Have a coded diagnosis of learning disability, and
Do not have a subsequent “removed from LD register” or exclusion code recorded.
✅ In short: any patient with a current, unresolved learning disability diagnosis should appear on the register.
🩺 The Indicator
🧠 LD005 — Learning Disability Register
Measures:
The contractor establishes and maintains a register of patients with learning disabilities without a subsequent exclusion code.
Counts as complete if:
Patient has a valid LD diagnosis recorded in their record.
No exclusion (LD removal) code is recorded on or after that diagnosis.
Exclusions:
Patients with an LD removal/exclusion code recorded after their most recent LD diagnosis (e.g. diagnosis error or miscoded case).
⚠️ Common pitfalls:
LD diagnosis coded historically but later excluded — ensure valid removal code used if exclusion intended.
Confusing “learning difficulty” with “learning disability” — only learning disability codes count.
Recording diagnosis in free text or under incorrect code clusters (not captured by QOF).
✅ In short: LD005 ensures your practice has a complete, accurate register of all patients with a learning disability and no exclusion code.
🧩 Putting It All Together
Indicator | Focus | Who It Applies To | What It Shows | What to Do |
LD005 | Learning Disability Register | All patients with an LD diagnosis | Accuracy of the practice’s LD register | Ensure all LD diagnoses are coded correctly and not incorrectly excluded |
🌟 Why This Matters
Maintaining an accurate learning disability register helps practices:
Identify all eligible patients for annual LD health checks.
Enable reasonable adjustments and personalised care planning.
Improve care coordination between GPs, carers, and community teams.
Demonstrate QOF compliance and proactive management of LD care.
✅ In short: the Learning Disability Indicator ensures every patient with a diagnosed learning disability is captured, coded, and supported appropriately in your practice system.
📚 Sources
NHS England QOF Business Rules v50.0 (Learning Disability, April 2025)
Primary Care Domain Reference Sets (TRUD Portal)