New measures announced to improve care for people with autism and learning disabilities

New measures to improve care for people with autism and learning disabilities have been announced by the government.

A package of measures to improve care for autistic people and those with learning disabilities has been announced by Health and Social Care Secretary, Matt Hancock MP, including:

• funding for specialist advocates to review the care of every patient in long-term seclusion or segregation
• a new working group for learning disabilities and autism, bringing together experts, clinicians, parents and carers to develop a new model of care
• a new awareness campaign, to encourage staff, families and friends to come forward if they have concerns about care

The commitments build on proposals announced earlier this year, which will see all health and care staff undertake mandatory training on learning disability and autism to ensure that the care offered is high quality, sensitive and compassionate.

The plans have been announced ahead of the publication of the Care Quality Commission’s (CQC) interim report into the use of restraint, segregation and prolonged seclusion in health and care settings.

The CQC report was commissioned by the Health and Social Care Secretary in November 2018.

Tracey Harrison, Rochdale Borough Council’s assistant director for commissioning, public health and adult care, said: “Through innovative service delivery and effective partnership working we provide excellent care and support in the community for people living with complex needs. We work closely with families and care providers to ensure our services are delivered in the best interests of individual service users.

“As such, we welcome the government report as these proposals will complement our pioneering work and we look forward to seeing further details over the coming weeks.”

Additionally, the care of every patient in segregation or long-term seclusion will be reviewed as part of plans to improve the model of care.

Specialist independent advocates will be funded by the government to work with families and join-up services as well as working to move people to the least restrictive care before bringing people into the community.

Learning disabilities and autism are one of the four clinical priorities in the NHS Long Term Plan.

The NHS plan aims to improve community support and halve the number of people with a learning disability – or who are on the autism spectrum – in mental health hospitals by 2024.

There are currently 2,245 patients in mental health inpatient settings in England.

The government has committed to halving this number by 2024; since 2015, the number has reduced by 22%.