Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what estimate he has made of the number of people in Kent waiting for an initial assessment for autism spectrum condition significantly longer than the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standard; and what steps he is taking to ensure that no patients have to wait for more than three months for their first appointment.
The 2018 autism self-assessment framework, published in June 2017, showed that the average wait between referral and assessment for autism diagnostic assessment for Kent County Council was 40 weeks. Further information is available at the following link:
www.gov.uk/government/publications/autism-self-assessment-framework-exercise
We expect local services to adhere to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence quality standard on autism which states that the length of time between referral and a first appointment to start an assessment should be no more than three months.