How is the Welsh Government encouraging health boards to achieve 'Autism Understanding' status, as Hywel Dda University Health Board has recently achieved?
The Welsh Government published a Statutory Code of Practice on the Delivery of Autism Services in September 2021. It includes duties in relation to workforce knowledge and skills and we fund the National Neurodivergence Team (NNT) to support the delivery of the Code, and to promote Wales as a neurodivergent friendly nation.
The team delivers a national neurodivergence workforce strategy working across health boards and local authorities to understand learning needs and to plan and deliver training. Training resources are readily available on many digital learning platforms as well as the NNT website.
On 31 October, Hywel Dda University Health Board received accreditation at an NNT event, in recognition of good practice and to encourage further take-up across Wales. To achieve Autism Understanding status, 85% of the health board’s 13,000 staff had to complete e-learning modules.