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Exploring new roles in Learning Disabilities and Autism services
This workstream is focused on looking forward and identifying whether new roles are required to deliver new and different learning disability and autism services in the future.
As Learning Disability and Autism Services evolve to respond to national policy shifts, so does the need for, and demands of the workforce. To understand future workforce implications, we have commissioned the University of East Anglia to undertake work, supporting the Learning Disability and Autism Programme to explore where new roles might be required and how they could add value, improving the lives of people through increased access to healthcare, and improvements in the quality of care.
The work has been undertaken in two phases and included a review of published and unpublished literature and intelligence, contributions from health and social care providers in the form of a series of workshops, input from people with learning disabilities and autism and their families and representatives and the guidance and support of an expert reference group who have given generously of their time and expertise. More detail of the phased approach to the work is available below.
Phase 1 of this work has scoped the nature of the challenges to learning disability and autism services. The work examined where the needs of people with learning disability and autism remain unfulfilled, and whether new roles or other interventions were an appropriate means of addressing these needs.
Phase 1: Report and recommendations from University of East Anglia
Phase 2 of the project seeks to understand how new roles could contribute to meeting the needs of people and families, what the benefits of such roles might be, whether the roles are sustainable and what further considerations might be needed to implement these new roles in the future.
This work is currently underway, and a report will be available shortly.