Publication, Part of Autism Waiting Time Statistics
Autism Waiting Time Statistics - Quarter 1 2019-20 to Quarter 2 2020-21 and Quarter 3 (October to December) 2020-21
Experimental statistics, Official statistics in development
Update to methodology in measures ASD01g, ASD01i and their corresponding percentages
An issue in the methodology originally published was identified post-publication in the referral to care contact component of the publication. This related to the cut off date used for a referral to have been discharged from service without a diagnosis or care contact or for a referral to still be waiting for a diagnosis or care contact.
The cut off date used originally for these measures was the end date of each reporting quarter, it has now been changed to the end of the final full quarter of performance data available.
An updated data file is provided below, suffixed with v2.
29 June 2021 09:00 AM
Summary
These statistics present two measures of waiting times for autism spectrum disorder diagnostic pathways:
• Waiting time between referral and first care contact for patients with suspected autism
• Waiting time between referral and diagnosis for patients diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder
Each of these measures contributes to an overall picture of waiting times for diagnostic pathways. Both approaches are outlined in the methodology section of this publication.
These are experimental statistics and are published to involve users and stakeholders in their development to build in quality and reliability at an early stage.
Highlights
During the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, an effect is beginning to appear in the quality and coverage of some of our statistics. We are starting to see differing patterns in the submitted data. Therefore, data should be interpreted with care over the period of the pandemic. For the duration of the COVID-19 pandemic, we are now undertaking some early analysis and reporting to help with monitoring of any impact using existing finalised MHSDS data as well as provisional MHSDS data. The true nature of the impact COVID-19 has had on autism waiting time statistics will not be understood in full for some time.
Waiting time from referral to first care contact
There were 9,868 referrals for suspected autism in quarter two 2020-21 (the latest data), of which 15% had their first care contact within 13 weeks of referral
Waiting time from referral to recorded diagnosis
There were 2,989 recorded diagnoses of autism in quarter three 2020/21 (the latest data), of which 43% were recorded within 13 weeks of referral
Resources
Last edited: 6 July 2021 9:39 am