Rishard Beckett—actor, model and member of our dedicated Health Team (or ‘H Team’)—successfully completed a 16-mile walk from his home in Rugby to his hometown of Coventry last week (Thursday 25 September) to raise awareness of barriers he and other people with learning disabilities still face when accessing health care in Coventry and Warwickshire.
Rishard and the H Team have since been invited to consult with the Chief Medical Officer and Chief Integration Officer for NHS Coventry and Warwickshire’s Integrated Care Board on strengthening their work addressing these health inequalities.
Thursday’s walk came hot on the heels of the much anticipated—and delayed—LeDeR report (Learning from lives and deaths of people with a learning disability and autistic people) on 2 September.
The latest 2023 report finds that on average, people with a learning disability die 19.5 years younger than the general population and are almost twice as likely to die from an avoidable cause of death.
Rishard, who has Down’s syndrome, said: “Over a year ago I came up with the idea that I wanted to walk from Rugby to Coventry.
“I spoke to some really great people who have helped me think about how we might pull it off and how we could raise awareness of health inequalities at the same time.”
The walk incorporated four dramatic performances at various stop points on the barriers most frequently faced by people with learning disabilities trying to access health care.
These included a Love Island inspired pain scale, a giant pill and doctors costumes. A welcome party was waiting at the finish line in Coventry canal basin.
Rishard was accompanied by Emma and Molly from Grapevine, who work closely with him, throughout the walk and later by his fellow H Team members—whose remit is educating peers and professionals on living longer, healthier lives. This includes training NHS staff and social work and nursing students on delivering care in the most effective way to people with learning disabilities.
Emma said: “It was extra tricky for him on long stretches of the walk because of narrow, uneven paths and branches hanging down.”
Mel, Rishard’s mum and Grapevine deputy CEO, shared: “Rishard has had glasses since he was three-years-old. His vision is also affected by nystagmus—an incurable condition causing involuntary movement in his eyes.
“He is the king of adaptation though and most people wouldn’t even realise.”
Rishard, who trains at his local gym early each morning, wanted to see as many people as possible supporting his journey and spreading the message that people with learning disabilities deserve the same level of health care as other people.
BBC reporter Joan Cummins joined him at the Ansty stop, just outside Coventry, for an interview on the towpath and his fourth and final performance on the proposed scrapping of national targets for GPs to undertake annual health checks with 75 per cent of people with learning disabilities in our region—in a bid to reduce waiting times.
Rishard told Joan: “I want to help people and make sure that their health is OK.”
Hits Radio reporter Frances Wall greeted the team at the finish line to find out how the walk went.
Rishard told Frances: “The walk was hard and tiring but when I came to the finish line it was amazing to see everyone cheering me on.”
Mel shared: “I’m super proud of what Rishard has achieved in raising awareness. He’s been training in the gym and I knew he had it in him—I’m super happy.
“To think he wouldn’t have his effect on the world for an extra 19 years is really upsetting. You find it difficult to comprehend.”
The walk concluded with a powerful narrative read out by Rishard and fellow health advocate Elizabeth who called on the audience to be a part of the change by actively working with people with learning disabilities to tackle inequalities directly affecting the length and quality of disabled people’s lives.
About us and this work
We live in challenging times. Lasting solutions and a fairer future can only come when communities are at the heart of shaping them.
We work alongside people and communities facing disadvantage in Coventry, Warwickshire and beyond—helping every life and community have the power to grow.
To read the 2023 LeDeR report, click here.
Click here for the government’s statement on the report.
Learn how we helped develop the region’s first ‘Learning Disability Friendly Practice’ accreditation scheme for GP surgeries in Coventry and Warwickshire in 2023.