The Duchess of Edinburgh looks stylish in her satin shirt as she visits the charity for the learning disabled

The Duchess of Edinburgh looked stylish in a pale pink satin shirt as she visited learning disabilities charity Mencap on Wednesday.

Mum-of-two Sophie, 58, the royal patron of Mencap, performed for her of the charity’s first summit on health inequalities at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London to learn more about healthcare for people with learning disabilities.

The queen, who has supported the charity for almost 20 years, looked summery in a floaty floral skirt and satin blouse, which she cinched at the waist with a chunky brown belt.

She draped a chic cream colored cardigan around her shoulders and accessorised it with a pearl necklace.

She added a bit more glamor with diamond earrings and styled her blonde tresses in bouncy curls.

The Duchess of Edinburgh looked stylish in a pale pink satin shirt as she visited learning disabilities charity Mencap on Wednesday

At a time of enormous pressure on health and social care and the introduction of new integrated care systems across England, health leaders and campaigners came together to talk about life expectancy, preventable deaths and other barriers people with a learning disability face in accessing health care are.

Particular attention was paid to how they could work together to increase the number of people on the Learning Disabilities Register and to speed up the introduction of mandatory Oliver McGowan training.

During the summit, Sophie meets with Mencap Treat Me Well activists Brendan Chivasa and Michelle Ornstein.

Sophie heard from NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard, Mencap Chairwoman Dame Carolyn Fairbairn and activists like Cath Horbury speaking about the benefits of annual health checks.

Paula McGowan also spoke passionately about her work campaigning for mandatory training for health and social workers following the death of her son Oliver.

Mencap’s Treat Me Well campaign, launched in February 2018, aims to change the way the NHS treats people with a learning disability.

Mum-of-two Sophie, 58, the Royal Patron of Mencap, appeared at the health inequalities charity’s first summit at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in London to learn more about healthcare for people with learning disabilities

Sophie meets Debbie Aumger, Oliver McGowan’s training manager, at the charity’s first Health Inequalities Summit

Although some progress has been made, including mandatory Oliver McGowan training and a significant increase in patients with a learning disability undergoing a health check for learning disabilities, people with a learning disability still face appalling health inequalities.

Last year’s Learning Disability Mortality Review showed the staggering levels of premature mortality and preventable deaths among people with a learning disability; On average, people with a learning disability die 25 years younger than the general population and 49% of deaths among people with a learning disability were classified as preventable compared to 22% for the general population.

Mencap hopes the summit will contribute to long-term collective planning and action to reduce the inequalities faced by people with learning disabilities.

The goal is that everyone with a learning disability will eventually be placed on the Learning Disability Registry and mandatory Oliver McGowan training will be introduced expeditiously.

The queen, who has supported the charity for nearly 20 years, looked summed up in a floaty floral skirt and satin blouse, which she cinched at the waist with a chunky brown belt

Sophie, the Royal Patron of the Learning Disabilities Charity, addressed those attending the charity meeting

Sophie meets NHS England CEO Amanda Pritchard at the charity’s inaugural Health Inequalities Summit

NHS Chief Executive Amanda Pritchard said: “We know that people with learning disabilities have worse health outcomes and sometimes have difficulty accessing healthcare – I was delighted to attend this really important inaugural summit so we can learn more about these issues together and can find ways to approach them.

“Significant progress has been made to ensure that more and more people with a learning disability receive annual health checks.

“We know there is still much more work to be done and our integrated care system is well placed to help – it can ensure services work even more closely together to break down barriers to entry, reduce lengthy hospital stays where we can, and continue to ensure staff All levels complete mandatory training by Oliver McGowan.’

Dame Carolyn Fairbairn, Chair of the Royal Mencap Society, said: “Health inequalities cannot be ignored. People with a learning disability have a right to access quality and timely care that meets their needs and supports them to lead happy and healthy lives.

She draped a chic cream colored cardigan around her shoulders and accessorised it with a pearl necklace

The royals meet Catherine Horbury and Rob Webster at the charity Health Inequalities Summit

Royal Patron Sophie met with Mencap CEO Edel Harris, activists and health leaders

“We hope that today’s inaugural Health Inequalities Summit is the first step towards working together to develop a common plan to tackle the shocking levels of premature death and health inequalities that people with learning disabilities continue to face.”

Treat Me Well activist and Summit attendee Michelle Ornstein said: “I belong to a group of people with a learning disability that promotes annual health checks and encourages people to enroll in the Learning Disabilities Registry.

“I truly believe that other people with a learning disability need to know the difference small steps can make in their lives. It was very special to meet the Duchess of Edinburgh and see everyone working together to bring about change.”