What is the challenge your project is going to address and how does it connect to the theme of 'How can we improve across system boundaries?​

We know from local feedback and also national findings that neurodivergent people experience inequalities in mental health services. We recognise that our primary NHS and third sector mental health services could be improved to make them more accessible and effective for neurodivergent people. For example, data from our talking therapies service shows that autistic people are less likely to complete therapy and more likely to DNA. This suggests that the service set up needs to be reviewed with autistic people and adjustments that support improved experience implemented.

This project would give us a brilliant opportunity to work across the system and improve across our primary mental health care offer.

What does your project aim to achieve?

Our project aims to improve access, experience and outcomes of autistic people and people with ADHD within primary mental health services. As a result we hope to contribute to the reduction in the inequalities neurodivergent experience in mental health care.

We aim to ensure that:

-NHS primary mental health and third sector mental health staff are skilled in making reasonable adjustments and supporting access, experience and outcomes in autistic people and people with ADHD

-We scope the  system boundaries that cause the disparity between service availability dependant on neurotype and  we understand how this could be addressed jointly by NHS and third sector

-Our primary mental health services offer is accessible to neurodivergent people and offers valuable and meaningful neurodiversity affirming input

-NHS and third sector primary mental health services work collaboratively to support neurodivergent people

How will the project be delivered?

The project will be delivered jointly by NHS mental health staff with both learned and lived experience around autism and ADHD alongside our local autistic led organisation ‘Autism Inclusion Matters’. We will also work alongside local wellbeing organisations to ensure there is maximum spread and benefit of any changes made. The project will be led by a Quality Improvement lead with QI expertise and clinical experience of working with neurodivergent people. We will have a strong lived experience focus to the project through spending time to gather views and experiences around system boundaries. We will understand and test ideas to help organisations work more effectively together to support people to access the mental health support they need as soon as they need it.

How is your project going to share learning?

We have a population health and inequalities steering group in our region which has a priority around neurodiversity, this would be an ideal forum to share the learning at a local level. In addition we have a local autism partnership board where we will also offer feedback in to. We are due to be forming a new community mental health and learning disability NHS organisation which will be significantly bigger and promote sharing of good practice.

We will share our learning with Q members through updating our project progress page and in linking with projects and special interest groups which have shared interests in this area.