WIREDGOV

Families supported by the Edwin Lobo Centre in Luton were at the heart of a visit by Dame Rachel De Souza, Children’s Commissioner for England on Friday 29th April.

Teams from Luton Children and Adults Community Health Services, provide by Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust proudly shared their passion and commitment to improve outcomes for children in the town.

Dr David Vickers, Consultant Paediatrician, and Interim Clinical Lead Luton and Bedfordshire Community Paediatrics said: “It was a pleasure to host Dame De Souza and for her to hear first-hand of the support we offer to children and young people, many with highly complex conditions and needs. The visit was also an opportunity to be honest about our aspirations and our challenges.”

One of the impactful moments of the day was a presentation with Dr A Yee Than, Consultant Community Paediatrician, who first explained about how the service has adapted for children requiring assessments for autism and then introduced Rachel to a family she is working with.

BOSA (Brief Observations of the Symptoms of Autism) is a diagnostic assessment, as the name suggests, which allows a paediatrician to observe a young person interacting with their parent (or an adult they are comfortable with).

Rachel said: “It was a pleasure to visit the Edwin Lobo Centre to see their incredible community paediatrics work in Luton. I was particularly impressed by how they’ve adapted their ASD assessment during Covid-19 to the BOSA assessment and their work on mental health support in the community. It was lovely to meet all the staff so thank you for facilitating the visit.”