Health and Social Care

Maria Caulfield Excerpts

Tuesday 14th March 2023 Ministerial Corrections

The following are extracts from the debate on Autism and ADHD Assessments in Westminster Hall on 6 February 2023.

[Maria Caulfield]

NICE has a recommendation that autism assessments should be done within 13 weeks of referral and we know that in many cases that recommendation is not being met.

[Official Report, 6 February 2023, Vol. 727, c. 242WH.]

Letter of correction from the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield):

An error has been identified in the speech I gave.

The correct statement should have been:

[Maria Caulfield]

NICE has a recommendation that autism assessments should begin within 13 weeks of referral and we know that in many cases that recommendation is not being met.

[Maria Caulfield]

NHS England has developed a framework that is transforming learning from autism and ADHD pilot schemes into scalable action, which will improve support and care for people across the country.

[Official Report, 6 February 2023, Vol. 727, c. 243WH.]

Letter of correction from the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield):

An error has been identified in the speech I gave.

The correct statement should have been:

[Maria Caulfield]

NHS England has developed a framework that is transforming learning from autism pilot schemes into scalable action, which will improve support and care for people across the country.

[Maria Caulfield]

That is making a difference by supporting young people with mental health issues, but it is also about identifying whether they could have an ADHD or autism diagnosis and getting them into the system much more quickly.

[Official Report, 6 February 2023, Vol. 727, c. 243WH.]

Letter of correction from the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield):

An error has been identified in the speech I gave.

The correct statement should have been:

[Maria Caulfield]

That is making a difference by supporting young people with mental health issues, but might also include identifying whether they could have an ADHD or autism diagnosis and working as part of an integrated referral system by getting them into the system much more quickly.

[Maria Caulfield]

I will touch on a final point, raised by the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier), which was that ADHD is under-diagnosed in women and girls. She is absolutely right, and that is because the symptoms and signs are very different in girls as opposed to boys and men. We are looking at that in the women’s health strategy.

[Official Report, 6 February 2023, Vol. 727, c. 244WH.]

Letter of correction from the Under-Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, the hon. Member for Lewes (Maria Caulfield):

An error has been identified in the speech I gave.

The correct statement should have been:

[Maria Caulfield]

I will touch on a final point, raised by the hon. Member for Rutherglen and Hamilton West (Margaret Ferrier), which was that ADHD is under-diagnosed in women and girls. She is absolutely right, and that is because the symptoms and signs are very different in girls as opposed to boys and men. We are looking at sex-differences in health conditions in the women’s health strategy.