A press release dated 21st January 2014 from NICE (The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) announced new quality standard on autism which ‘will help services address the current variation in diagnosis and treatment of the disorder’.
Current variations certainly exist despite, for example, The Autism Act 2009, which committed the Government to publishing an adult autism strategy ‘to transform services for adults with autism’ – a strategy which is being inconsistently implemented across local authority areas.
The new NICE quality standard is certainly aims high: “To help reduce this variation in care, NICE has produced a quality standard on children, young people and adults with autism. The quality standard contains eight measurable statements, which together can improve the quality and consistency of care for people with the condition.” (The first standard makes recommendations about diagnosis and assessment.)
The National Autistic Society (NAS) has welcomed the publication of the new Quality Standard on autism “Local councils and the NHS will now need to look at whether services are meeting relevant areas of this standard. This should mean the specific needs of people with autism are taken in to account in the design of services. The standard can also be used by people with autism and their parents/carers as information about what high-quality care or services should include.”