WIREDGOV

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) have asked us to regulate all diagnostic assessments for autism and ADHD, once new regulations are in place.

The announcement follows publication of an independent review chaired by Professor Peter Fonagy into the prevalence of, and support for, mental health conditions, ADHD, and autism.

At present, we regulate services which offer both diagnosis and treatment of ADHD and autism, but we current legislation does not allow us to regulate services which only offer diagnosis and not treatment. The change will mean that these diagnostic services will also be regulated by us.

Speaking following DHSC’s announcement, Adrian James, interim Chief Inspector of Mental Health Care, said:

This new responsibility will increase the scope of our regulation, and most importantly, it will close a significant gap in our oversight, meaning that people receiving these diagnoses can have far greater confidence in the service they’re receiving.

Arun Chopra, Interim Chief Executive, said:

We welcome this opportunity to support driving improvements in the quality of diagnostic support and care that people deserve. We will be working closely with all stakeholders to develop this work.

This work, which expands on our existing regulation of services for people with ADHD and autistic people, supports our purpose to ensure people receive safe, effective, compassionate, and high-quality mental health care.