Issue - meetings

(a)       That the update on the North Wales integrated autism service be noted;

(b)       That the Committee is content that progress has been made during the year to meet the duties on behalf of the region;

(c)        That the Committee are concerned that the amount of resources allocated to the Integrated Autism Service is insufficient to meet the demands on the Service; and

(d)       That the difference the Integrated Autism Service has made to people with Autism be noted.

The Senior Manager – Safeguarding and Commissioning, introduced a report to update on progress of the local implementation of the Integrated Autism Service (IAS). 

The Service Manager Disability Services provided background information and referred to the Welsh Government (WG) initiative to develop an Integrated Autism Service (IAS) across Wales.  She advised that the North Wales region had an annual budget of £615,800 to develop IAS which in the main covered staffing costs for the Service, including social care and health staff.  The Service Manager Disability Services reported on the main considerations, as detailed in the report, and referred to how the service operated, performance data, resource implications, and risk management. 

The Service Manager Disability Services introduced a service user to  the meeting and invited her to provide information on her personal experience of the Integrated Autism Service.  The service user spoke of the support and benefits she had received from IAS and the difference it had made to her life.  She also spoke of her aspirations for the future and where she felt further improvements could be made to the Service.  The Chair thanked the service user for her attendance and her responses to Members’ questions.  

Councillor Carol Ellis queried the waiting time for assessment of people who present with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).  The Service Manager Disability Services advised that the current waiting time for assessment was 26 weeks, however, the Service was not complacent and was arranging for other health professionals, citing nurses, language and speech therapists, to undertake training to also enable them to carry out assessments.  She explained that individuals did not need to wait for diagnosis prior to being given support.  

Councillor Ellis commented on the annual allocation of £615,800 for the North Wales Region to develop IAS and expressed the view that this would be insufficient to meet the demands of the Service.  She commented on the additional role and responsibility placed on local authorities by the WG to fill the gap in service provision for ASD, without the funding for resources. Councillor Ellis proposed that an additional recommendation be included in the report to record that the Committee were concerned that the amount of resources allocated to the Integrated Autism Service were insufficient to meet the demands on the service.  This was seconded by Councillor Paul Cunningham.

RESOLVED: 

(a)       That the update on the North Wales integrated autism service be noted;

(b)       That the Committee is content that progress has been made during the year to meet the duties on behalf of the region;

(c)        That the Committee are concerned that the amount of resources allocated to the Integrated Autism Service is insufficient to meet the demands on the Service; and

(d)       That the difference the Integrated Autism Service has made to people with Autism be noted.