Conor McGinn – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Department of Health

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Conor McGinn on 2015-10-13.

To ask the Secretary of State for Health, what steps (a) his Department and (b) NHS England is taking to ensure that autism diagnosis waiting times for (i) children and (ii) adults in St Helens North constituency meet NICE guidance.

Alistair Burt

The Department has discussed with NHS England the difficulties that people on the autistic spectrum can have in getting an appropriate diagnosis in a timely manner. With support from the Department, NHS England and the Association of Directors of Social Services will undertake a series of visits to clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to gather information that can be shared between areas that have arrangements in place to meet National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) Quality Standard 51 Autism: support for commissioning and those that do not, with the aim of supporting more consistent provision. These NICE guidelines already recommend that there should be a maximum of three months between a referral and a first appointment for a diagnostic assessment for autism. We expect the National Health Service to be working towards meeting the recommendations.

St Helens CCG is undertaking a review of current processes as part of the neuro-developmental pathway project, which includes autism spectrum conditions diagnosis provision and the associated waiting times for children. It is envisaged that the revised service model will be operational from September 2016, and will be in line with NICE Guidance. St Helens also co-commissions an Autism Diagnostic service in partnership with other neighbouring CCGs for adult services. Due to recent increases in demand the CCG is also working with the local NHS provider to help find solutions in regard to how waiting times can be effectively managed in order to meet NICE Guidance.