Autism waiting times quick guide to submitting data

This guide was updated in May-24 to reflect the implementation of MHSDS v6.

Author: Mental Health, NHS Talking Therapies and Learning Disability and Autism Analysis Team, NHS England

Aim

NHS England is working to improve the recording and reporting of waiting times for autism spectrum disorder diagnostic pathways using the Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS).

View the MHSDS published figures.

MHSDS data items needed for these measures

The table below lists all MHSDS fields and any expected values needed by NHS England to compile these measures (it does not include the mandatory tables and data items needed to make a submission to the MHSDS). More information can be found in the MHSDS User Guidance and Technical Output Specification.

Table	Field	Notes specific to autism waiting times
MHS001MPI	PersonBirthDate	Used to calculate age at referral
	GenderIDCode	Used for demographic breakdowns
	GenderSameBirth	Used for demographic breakdowns
	Gender	Used for demographic breakdowns
	EthnicCategory	Used for demographic breakdowns
MHS101Referral	ReferralRequestReceivedDate	Used as 'start date'
	PrimReasonReferralMH	Identifies autism assessment referrals where: 25 - Suspected Autism
	ServDischDate	Used as 'end date'
MHS103OtherReasonReferral	OtherReasonReferMH	Identifies autism assessment referrals where: 25 - Suspected Autism
MHS201CareConnect	CareContDate	When the contact took place
	ConsMechanismMH	How the contact took place: 01 - Face to face, 11 - Video consultation
	AttendStatus	Attendance: 5 - Attended on time or, if late, before the relevant CARE PROFESSIONAL was ready to see the PATIENT 6 - Arrived late, after the relevant CARE PROFESSIONAL was ready to see the PATIENT, but was seen
MHS604PrimDiag	DiagSchemeInUse	Used to determine Diagnosis received: 02 - ICD-10 or 06 - SNOMED CT® which determines which of the PrimDiag values to use
	PrimDiag	Used to determine Diagnosis received: ICD-10 = codes starting F84, F88, F89 (excluding codes starting F842, F84.2, F844 and F84.4) SNOMED = '408857007', '43614003', '191689008', '191690004', '231536004', '23560001', '702732007', '708037001', '408856003', '373618009', '442314000', '35919005', '39951000119105', '870260008', '870261007', '870262000', '870263005', '870264004', '870265003', '870266002', '870267006', '870268001', '870269009', '870270005', '870280009', '870282001', '870303005', '870304004', '870305003', '870306002', '870307006', '870308001', '722287002', '723332005', '733623005', '766824003', '770790004', '771448004', '771512003', '783089006', '432091002'

Furthermore, the following 4 tables need to be submitted in each submission with their respective mandatory and required fields. More information can be found in the MHSDS User Guidance and Technical Output Specification.

Table	Description
MHS000Header	Uniquely identifies each MHSDS submission made by the provider
MHS001MPI	Uniquely identifies every patient and records personal details of each patient
MHS002GP	Records details of the GP of every patient
MHS101Referral	Records details of referrals made for the patient

Last edited: 27 February 2025 5:16 pm