Healthwatch Wolverhampton
Project case study
Improving support for people waiting for autism diagnosis
In response to concerns raised by local people and partners about long waits for autism assessment and diagnosis and a lack of support, Healthwatch Wolverhampton investigated people’s experiences to understand where improvements could be made to provide better care and support.
In February to March 2024, they gathered feedback from 70 people through a survey, discussion groups, one-to-one interviews and community events.
The key themes that emerged from people’s feedback centred around the need for more information about autism and the assessment process, and better communication and support during and after the autism diagnosis process. The long waits for diagnosis and support were found to be impacting people’s mental health and wellbeing.
Healthwatch Wolverhampton shared their findings with the NHS Black Country Integrated Care Board (ICB) to inform their work looking at health inequalities and coordination of autism services and policies, and with the Wolverhampton Autism Board, who are implementing the Wolverhampton Autism Strategy.
More information
Healthwatch Wolverhampton will publish their full report and recommendations for improvement in September 2024.
“The main issues for autistic adults, mirror those of people with disabilities in general. Namely: accessing education and training, finding suitable employment and succeeding within a workplace… finding somewhere to live… and loneliness and social exclusion… There’s also an issue with and/or a lack of widespread understanding within the medical community about the additional health needs, associated medical conditions and co-morbidities that autistic people experience.”
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