BY JACK WELCH

ACCESS to good healthcare is an important fixture to everyone – one of the essentials and regular necessities of our lives.

For people with lifelong conditions that affect their ability to communicate, environments that are otherwise unremarkable for most can quickly become intolerable.

A report published this week by the newly established Westminster Autism Commission, which has drawn together a series of MP champions on the condition and self-advocates who are able to speak from their own personal experiences, has found a lacklustre provision when it comes to training and leadership in supporting those on the autistic spectrum.

From a survey conducted to collect wider opinions on how autistic people felt their needs were being met according to their expectations, a resounding 74 per cent felt they received a ‘worse’ or ‘much worse’ quality of service compared to those who are not affected in any way.

What is more of a concern still is that, across the major institutions of health like NHS England, there is no clinical lead to oversee the improvements which services desperately require.

With investment in areas like research and programmes to create better awareness, it is only right that the starting point is to create a post in the NHS to initiate a series of reforms.

It may well be a way to bring some progress from the situation.

With over 700,000 people estimated to be on the autism spectrum, it is sensible that one of the priorities to improve the strength of care is basic training for staff like GPs and nurses themselves.

Although it is not the only solution in changing a culture of practice, the basic request for government to send CCGs a resource pack on advice to train healthcare staff will surely not cost the earth, as with most of their other recommendations.

The extent of the action taken from this information must now be seen and hopefully these findings can be incorporated somehow into the ongoing review within Dorset’s CCG.

To access the full report, click here.