Freedom of Information Request: 0774

From our research so far, most diagnostic pathways for children with suspected autism aged 0 – 5 involve a 3 stage process: (1) referral (2) initial assessment/triage and (3) formal diagnostic clinic. Some Trusts may go directly from initial referral to diagnosis.

Question 1          In your Trust area, what is the actual, average duration from receipt of referral to initial assessment/triage. NB If there is no initial assessment/triage stage, what is the actual, average time from referral (Stage 1) to a diagnosis appointment (Stage 3)?

28 weeks.

We calculated this by looking at the difference in weeks between Referral and First Appointment. The first appointment is where the patient’s carer/relative first sees the service and after discussions with the service lead we agreed that this is when the patient will start to receive care.

Question 2          If there is an initial assessment/triage process in your locality, what is the actual, average duration from initial assessment/triage (2) to formal diagnostic clinic appointment(3)?

                        1 week.

This is worked out using the discharge data. We then calculated the difference in weeks between Referral and Discharge. The reason we used Discharge Date is because the service is an assessment and diagnosis service only and will then refer onto other appropriate services for the treatment/appropriate support of their Autism. This is a Therapy Lead assessment service that requires one referral only to the multi-disciplinary team – the child is only put on the one waiting list for assessment – unlike many other services whereby the child is referred separately to different members of the multi-disciplinary team.

Question 3          What was the number of children aged 0 – 5 receiving a formal diagnosis of autism in the last full year for which records are available?

                        31

Question 4         What was the average age of these children at the point of formal diagnosis?

We do not hold this information. The patients in question 3 are grouped into the 0-5 age group , but their actual age is not recorded.