Member News
By Robert Buckland MP - 24th May 2011
Robert Buckland MP calls on the government to improve access to health and social care services for young people and adults with autism spectrum disorders.
Today I have the floor of the House of Commons to myself for ten vital minutes, to talk about the need for better standards of care for families affected by autism. I'm introducing a Bill requiring the introduction of 'Quality Standards' for autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This is something in which I take a close personal interest due to my family's own circumstances.
We know that people with autism - both adults and children - often have problems getting appropriate care because their needs are not sufficiently recognised or understood by professionals. In a recent survey, 80 per cent of family doctors felt they required additional guidance and training in this area. If GPs are to take on more responsibility for the commissioning of services, this is something that needs to be addressed.
So what are Quality Standards? In essence, they are short statements that define best practice in a particular area of health care. Once they have been produced and published by NICE, they act as a series of guidelines to the whole of the NHS. The reason this is vital in the field of autism is that standards of care vary greatly across the country; it's not quite a 'postcode lottery', but there is certainly a need for more consistency so that families know what they can expect and professionals know what is expected of them.
I'll be setting out in detail the quality standards I'm suggesting, but briefly some of the priorities should be to ensure: that people with ASD receive care and support from appropriately trained staff capable of understanding and meeting their needs; that people with suspected ASD are referred to a specialist, dedicated team who support them throughout the process; that people newly diagnosed with ASD - and their carers - receive appropriate information about their condition and the support options in their local area; and that proper care and support is available for young people with autism moving into adulthood.
The quality standard will also ensure that people with autism achieve better health outcomes and are satisfied with local services that too often have failed them. Such failure is not only damaging to the individual, but also costs the public purse tens of millions of pounds. It is an old argument, but investment in early intervention, and on spreading best practice, helps prevent people from going into crisis and saves money. These are some of the arguments I'll be putting to Commons this afternoon in the Ten Minute Rule Bill. I hope it's ten minutes that will make a real difference.
Robert Bucklandhas been Conservative MP for South Swindon since 2010.
Dods Parliamentary Communications Ltd
Rachel Kirby
31st May 2011 at 1:44 pm