AQW 8233/22-27

Miss Deirdre Hargey
Sinn Féin
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 05/03/2024
Answered On Date: 20/03/2024
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health how he intends to address lengthy waiting times for adult Autism Spectrum Disorder assessments.

Answer:

The Department is aware of the extensive waiting lists for adult autism assessment and the challenges that this presents to those people who need support. A Review of Adult Autism Services across the region has been undertaken and the recommendations were presented to the Permanent Secretary. One of the recommendations is the appointment of a Lead for Adult Autism Services - recruitment of this post is currently underway. This role will be responsible for taking forward the recommendations emerging from the review; this will include the management of waiting lists for adult autism assessment waiting lists.

Each Health & Social Care Trust (HSCT) is also implementing a number of actions to improve service access and reduce waiting lists:

Belfast Trust - continues to recruit and train staff within available resources, however demand for Autism diagnosis and subsequent interventions continues to rise. There is a need for recurrent investment to meet the recurrent demand and also non-recurrent investment to manage pressures that have built up over many years, exacerbated by COVID-19.

The Trust also provides an Advice service (BAAS Belfast Autism Advice Service) for individuals aged 16+years and their families/carers which is supported by a multi-agency approach and is delivered in partnership with Cedar Foundation, DEL Careers Advice Service, DES Disability Employment Service, NISSA, NAS, AI, Carers NI and the Belfast Metropolitan College.

Northern Trust– The Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Service is currently funded for 6.9 whole time equivalent staff to provide diagnostic assessments and interventions to adults in the Northern Trust area. However, the demand for the service significantly outstrips capacity. Additional funding is required to provide to enhance staffing levels in order to address waiting times for adult autism assessments.

Southern Trust – have appointed a new ASD Mental Health Coordinator who is expected to take up post by the end of March 2024. This additional support will enable the ASD Adult Diagnostic service to increase its assessment clinics from once per month to weekly (circa 4 assessments per month from current baseline of 1 per month) commencing from April 2024. Additional investment and appropriately trained staff will be required to significantly reduce waiting times to Integrated Elective Access Protocol (IEAP) targets.

South Eastern Trust– have updated their short-term intervention service model to a predominately group-based intervention which then enables capacity to be redirected to completing diagnostic assessments. They are currently in the process of recruitment and have progressed unfilled posts in a timely manner. Slippage money from an unfilled post is being used to commission a provider to undertake diagnostic assessments as a way to reduce the diagnostic waiting list. The Trust are also in the process of funding an external provider to deliver a group work programme and as a result the additional capacity will be redirected to completing diagnostic assessments. Training sessions are currently being rolled out to referrers from various mental health teams, the objective of which is twofold, (1) to aid understanding of adult autism given the high number of requests they are receiving from individuals requesting onward referral for diagnostic assessment and (2) to help those working with autistic adults understand more about the condition.

Western Trust – are working to triage all referrals in a timely and comprehensive manner in keeping with National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. There are regular reviews of the Trust waiting list. The Trust service maintains compliance with both NICE guidance and the Northern Ireland Adult Autism Care Pathway. On an annual basis, the Trust seeks any funding slippage within the Trust, should such funding be available, to assist in reducing the waiting lists / times and actively seeks additional regional funding. The Trust regularly explores the potential for training and skill mix within the service staff group to enable it to provide diagnostic assessment in as timely a manner as possible.