Your say on Autism and ADHD services

THE NHS has asked those who are waiting for assessments to have their say.

Patients who are waiting for an Autism or ADHD assessment with the NHS have been asked to take part in a survey to see how they can make improvementsandchangestothe local services.

The Hampshire, Southampton, and Isle of Wight Integrated Care System (ICS) is undertaking a project to scope and map the current waiting times for Autism and ADHD NHS Assessment and DiagnosisservicesforChildren,Young People, and Adults.

The aim of the project is to get an understanding of how services across Hampshire, Southampton, Portsmouth, and the Isle of Wight are operating.

The ICS is keen to get the viewsofpatientsandtheirfamiliesontheirexperiencesofthe services and is particularly interested in the impact waiting timesmayhavehadonpatients and families.

Due to the impact of Covid-19, NHS providers covering Portsmouth and wider Hampshire have struggled to meet pre-Covid demand worsened by a surge in referrals in the pandemic.

In September 2021, more than300youngpeopleinPortsmouthhadbeenwaitinglonger than nine months for neurodiversity assessments that could lead to autism or ADHD diagnoses.

Atthetime,around112childrenintheareawerewaitingon average 15 weeks for their first assessment. The feedback collected from the survey will be anonymous and will be used to support the case for change within NHS services.

The closing date for responses is Sunday, May 29, 2022 and the anonymous survey can be found via mysay.is/ ADHDASDservices.