Support for neurodiversity services: tackling long wait times
Neurodiversity
5 December 2024
By Emily
We are know the scale of the problem of the Autism and ADHD assessment waiting times in England at the moment. With the average wait time approximately 30–44 weeks from referral, it’s clear that almost nobody receives assessments within the NICE recommended 13 week guidelines. Therefore, the scale of the issue is indisputable.
However, what many people may be missing with respect to these figures is that every individual on every waiting list is likely to be suffering in some way (or they probably wouldn’t have reached out for help in the first place).
What does that suffering look like? While every individual’s story is as unique as they are, some examples include:
- Mental health
- Accessing education
- Thriving at work
- Breakdown in family and friend relationships
- Harm to self/harm to others / Suicidal thoughts / suicide
- Substance abuse
- Crisis point
Support for neurodiversity services
Crucially, neurodiversity services have not resourced themselves to keep pace with the increasing need for assessment and support for people with neurodevelopmental conditions, such as autism and ADHD.
Although the current system is broken, we can repair it. Specifically, we must learn from the areas that are getting it right. Ultimately, this problem can only be tackled by health, care and education working together.
Recommendations:
- Increased capacity for early appointments and diagnoses.
- Better support within mainstream schools to reduce reliance on formal diagnoses.
- Access to digital tools that can be used alongside care pathways.
Improving wait lists, data quality & outcomes for autistic people and people with ADHD
Neurodiversity services can better support people by addressing key challenges like managing waiting lists and streamlining pathways. Furthermore, they can improve outcomes by ensuring effective data collection from assessment through to diagnosis.
These are areas where iaptus, electronic patient system for community and mental health, makes a difference. iaptus offers solutions that can alleviate many of the pressures currently faced by neurodiversity services.
With a long history of supporting NHS Talking Therapy Services, iaptus streamlines case management for improved outcomes. Moreover, our software contains a host of features for waiting list management, data reporting, and caseload oversight.
Furthermore, iaptus can be customised to suit the unique needs of neurodiversity services and, most importantly, it supports provision of assessment and diagnosis for neurodevelopmental conditions.
We believe in collaboration and partnership, working to adapt iaptus to meet specific requirements. We know we still have much to learn, but our configurable and adaptable system can evolve with your feedback to deliver tailored solutions.
Let’s work together to create a system that works for your team and, ultimately, better supports the people in your care.
Please get in touch or watch an iaptus demo on-demand.