NHS Grampian say no more ASD assessments after 1yr wait

After years of trying to get my GP to agree I needed an assessment , then being referred to the wrong hospital / NHS area, who despite seeing me for other medical issues, said I had to be sent to my own NHS area.

I live on a border, My Dr is is a different area then my home, even though it is the closest Dr, around the corner from my home, causes endless issues.

Eventually I got a referral to the right NHS (Grampian) nothing happened, then I got a call to ask if a lady could pop in for a chat, never said who she was, what her job was etc, after cancelling a few times, the meeting was useless and I still had no idea it was anything to do with an assessment.

The following year I was told I would need to travel 80 miles for an appointment (not possible for me) so after much letter writing by my Dr and Advocate (which were ignored) I have now been told Grampian NHS no longer do ASD assessments.

I quoted the Sign guild-lines, but was to that is only a recommendation, not a requirement .

Has any one got any suggestions where to try next? or is it worth starting a campaign as clearly this will affect others, are there any rules the NHS follow?

Thanks

Parents
  • Hi NAS 23894!

    The Autism Act 2009 was the first ever disability specific law in England.  The act led to the government producing the Autism Strategy.  As part of this strategy, it was recommended that local areas appoint a lead professional to develop diagnostic and assessment services for adults with autism. One of the guidelines is that local authorities must have a clear pathway of diagnosis for adults.  This means that wherever you live, you should be able to access a diagnostic assessment and your GP and/or local authority should be able to tell you how you can access this assessment:  http://www.autism.org.uk/working-with/autism-strategy/diagnosis/find-your-local-diagnostic-leads.aspx

    As you say these are only guidelines but you may be able to find a lead in your area that can give you different information than you have already received.

    You may also want to familiarise yourself with the NICE (National Institute for Clinical Excellence) guidelines that cover every aspect of care for people with autism across the spectrum, including specialist autism teams in each area for diagnosis, training and support.  The best practice guidelines show the level of service an adult should receive.  The guidelines were published in June 2012: http://www.nice.org.uk/CG142

    For more information or advice, or for any other questions you might have, please contact our autism helpline, who can provide you with impartial, confidential advice and support on autism: please call 0808 800 4104 (our lines are open 10am-4pm Monday-Friday)

    Hope you find some of this helpful,

    Warm regards,

    Heather - Mod

  • Hi

    I live in Grampian too and it depends what you are looking for. If you are wanting an all day session with a psychiatrist, social worker etc to find all your strengths and weaknesses then you will struggle. If, however, you are looking to be assessed as to whether you are on the spectrum then that is possible as that's what I have just undergone and got an official diagnosis. I simply collated my scores from a number of the tests our there and went and saw my GP and presented the results to him, he then referred me to the community mental health team and one of their psychiatrists assessed me through a detailed history, interview and then the RAAD-R test to confirm.

    Hope this helps in some way, as obviously I do not know your specifics or what you are looking for

    Andy

Reply
  • Hi

    I live in Grampian too and it depends what you are looking for. If you are wanting an all day session with a psychiatrist, social worker etc to find all your strengths and weaknesses then you will struggle. If, however, you are looking to be assessed as to whether you are on the spectrum then that is possible as that's what I have just undergone and got an official diagnosis. I simply collated my scores from a number of the tests our there and went and saw my GP and presented the results to him, he then referred me to the community mental health team and one of their psychiatrists assessed me through a detailed history, interview and then the RAAD-R test to confirm.

    Hope this helps in some way, as obviously I do not know your specifics or what you are looking for

    Andy

Children