FOI Ref: 0124FOI2021

8th December 2020

Freedom of Information Act 2000 – Request for Information

We are pleased to respond to your request for information and our response is set out below:

Request

I would like to find out what information and support/training is available for GP surgeries in Sheffield to help them gain autism awareness and enable them to understand their duties to provide reasonable adjustments for individuals with autism to access GP services.

Response

NHS Sheffield Clinical Commissioning Group (SCCG) have a clinical information portal to support primary care. This includes a dedicated autism page that links to nationally developed training resources from the Royal College of General Practitioners and others [Autism Resources and Information (sheffieldccgportal.co.uk)].

SCCG has delivered Protected Learning Initiative sessions (dedicated primary care training sessions with funded practice cover) on approaches to reasonable adjustment, and autism awareness alongside awareness raising around mental health conditions and learning disability. Annual training offered as part of the Annual Health Check process, covering learning disability, autism and advice on making reasonable adjustments.

SCCG has offered training by Experts by Experience with personal experience of autism and of learning disability and are piloting the use of an online digital learning platform and community of practice covering reasonable adjustments, learning disability and autism for GPs to access.

As part of a national exemplar pilot, a range of materials are being developed to target awareness raising of GPs that  includes work with Experts by Experience from a local autism voluntary sector perspective. These are planned to be developed before the end of March 2021