Purpose – To report on trends in the number of learning disability nurses working in the English National Health Service (NHS).

Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides secondary analysis of data from NHS workforce statistics.

Findings – Over the period 2008 to 2011, there was a decline of 23 per cent in the number of whole time equivalent learning disability nurses employed by the NHS. While the decline may, in part, be explained by a parallel reduction in NHS inpatient beds for people with learning disabilities, unevenly distributed reductions in the number of community nurses in different English regions are harder to explain.

Research limitations/implications – A better understanding of the numbers of learning disability nurses working in different sectors, given the roles expected of them, is essential to workforce planning and training plans.

Originality/value – Learning disability nurses are crucial to modern community based learning disability services. In this context, the number and distribution of them is important.