Autism Assessment service for children and young people
A specialist mental health care provider
is set to take on autism assessments for children and young people in
Scarborough and Ryedale.
The Retreat will take over Autism Spectrum Condition Diagnostic
Assessments for children and young people from school age up to their 18th
birthday.
The
Retreat specialises in providing high quality, effective and personalised
Autism and ADHD services to adults, children and young people across the North
of England.
Families
will receive more information about the new service – which will see
face-to-face appointments available in Scarborough and York, as well as
innovative virtual consultations – in letters being sent out this week.
Dr
Peter Billingsley, NHS Scarborough and Ryedale Clinical Commissioning Group’s
Associate Chair and the lead for mental health services in North Yorkshire,
said: “I am delighted we’ve been able to secure the services of The Retreat and
their partners, Healios, for autism assessments.
“The
Retreat has a reputation for excellence and will bring a level of experience
and expertise to the table that we believe will significantly enhance these
services for children and young people and lead to reduced waiting times and a
speedier diagnosis.”
Dr Kim
Bevan, Chief Officer (Clinical Services) at The Retreat, said: “We’re really
looking forward to working with families, children and young people from the
Scarborough and Ryedale area and this is great news for those people who need
our support.
“Here
at The Retreat we already assess, diagnose and support many people who are on
the autism spectrum. Our team of clinicians and health professionals achieve
excellent outcomes for these people and the feedback is extremely good.
“We
seek to fully understand each person and enable them to live a life that is
meaningful to them.
“We
will also be making good use of our dedicated virtual consultation service and
working with other digital consultation providers to ensure everyone who needs
it can access our service, wherever they live.”
The
service will involve diagnosing children who have not already been diagnosed,
in line with NICE guidance.
As
part of the service, the expert team at The Retreat will also be providing advice
to other professionals, including teachers, about whether to refer children and
young people for autism assessment.
York
Teaching Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, which previously provided behavioural
services in Scarborough and Ryedale, had been working with the CCG to identify
new providers after it decided it was no longer able to offer these specialist services.
Although the Trust
stopped accepting new referrals for autism and ADHD assessments in May, wider Community
Paediatric and Children’s Therapy services are unaffected by these changes and continue
to be provided by the Trust at Scarborough Hospital.
Patients who require general information or
advice about autism can visit the NHS website: www.nhs.uk