People with learning disabilities are suffering and even dying as laws to protect them are ignored by the NHS (National Health Service) in England, says an inquiry report.
The independent inquiry, launched after the deaths of six patients, called for tougher inspections and more training for staff.
However, it said new laws to ensure equal access were not needed.
Learning disability charities (like Mencap) welcomed the report - but one said there was a danger little action would be taken.
Dame Jo Williams, (the British charity) Mencap's chief executive, said: "It proves that people with a learning disability are being discriminated against in the NHS, which is leading to unnecessary pain and death.
"It is clear that there is a desperate need for mandatory learning disability training for all health care professionals, and for people with a learning disability and their families and carers to be at the centre of all decisions made surrounding their health care."
Mencap's own report, "Death by indifference", included the cases of Martin Ryan, a 43-year-old with Down's syndrome and autism who died after going without food for 26 days while in hospital following a stroke. (He is pictured above.)
His mother Anne said: "They did not listen to us, and we knew Martin better than anybody. We were totally ignored."
Other cases highlighted included that of Emma Kemp, of Newbury, Berkshire, who, despite being given a 50% chance of survival after a cancer diagnosis, was not treated immediately after doctors said she would not co-operate.
Also featured was Mark Cannon, a 30-year-old with a learning disability, died in 2003 eight weeks after being admitted to hospital with a broken leg.
His father, Allan, said at the time of the Mencap report, that he believed his son would have survived were it not for his disability.
"The medical staff had such poor understanding of Mark's needs," he said.
All six cases have also been investigated by the Health Service Ombudsman, which is expected to deliver its findings later in the year.
Learning disability charities welcomed the report - but one said there was a danger little action would be taken.
Martin Ryan
