Written question WQ83598

Autism services in Pembrokeshire are delivered for adults by the West Wales Integrated Autism Service and for children by Hywel Dda University Health Board. West Wales Integrated Autism Service is funded through the Welsh Government Integrated Care Fund and for this financial year has received £398,000. For children’s neurodevelopmental services which includes autism, £236,000 has been allocated to Hywel Dda University Health Board for this financial year.

In addition, we have made available £4,000 to each Regional Partnership Board to assist with the development of internal structures to support implementation of the statutory Code of Practice on the Delivery of Autism Services which came into effect on 1 September, this year.

Responsibility for neurodevelopmental services has recently been added to my portfolio. Whilst Welsh Ministers in health and social services have not yet had the opportunity to meet with organisations or groups in Pembrokeshire this term, my officials engage regularly with a wide range of stakeholders across Wales. Most recently this has been in relation to the development and implementation of the Code of Practice on the Delivery of Autism Services. In August this year we wrote to local health boards and local authorities to involve them in delivering future autism service improvement through their appointed autism leads.

Demand for autism assessment and diagnosis continues to increase, made worse by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. We are working to tackle this demand, taking immediate and long term action with the aim of building sustainable services for the future.

Local health boards are responsible for delivering services that meet the health needs of their local populations, all are working to reduce waiting times for assessment. Alongside this the NHS Together for Children and Young People Programme neurodevelopmental work stream is working to embed national pathways and to test a new digital profiler tool for health boards to improve information sharing and planning in children’s assessment services.

My officials are engaging directly with local health boards and their autism and neurodevelopmental service teams to work with them to improve services and waiting times. This is underpinned by a national review of neurodevelopmental services which will complete in March 2022 and will provide options for service development.