Autism: Telephone Services

(asked on 15th October 2020) - View Source

Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to ensure that new NHS 24/7 mental health support lines are (a) accessible to autistic people and (b) are staffed with advisers that have received autism training.


Answered by
Nadine Dorries Portrait
Nadine Dorries
This question was answered on 23rd October 2020

NHS England and NHS Improvement encourages National Health Service 24 hours per day, seven days a week mental health support line services to be universal and inclusive of people with co-existing conditions, including by making appropriate adjustments to support autistic people. This message has been reinforced through a series of webinars and various tools aimed at newly established local open-access crisis services.

In addition to existing training, the NHS England and NHS Improvement Learning Disability and Autism Programme commissioned Autistica to prepare a resource to help new crisis lines adapt to the needs of autistic children and young people, as well as the needs of parents. The resource is being finalised and there will shortly be two webinars to brief and support crisis line staff, managers and commissioners.

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