To read this content please select one of the options below:

Are we good and are we safe? Measuring quality and assessing risk in an adult autism diagnostic service

Alison Jane Stansfield (Leeds Autism Diagnostic Service, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Trust, Leeds, UK)
Alwyn Kam (Leeds Autism Diagnostic Service, Leeds and York Partnership NHS Trust, Leeds, UK)
Tara Baddams (University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)
Bethany Woodrow (University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)
Emma Roberts (University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)
Bhavika Patel (University of Leeds, Leeds, UK)
Conor James Davidson (Community Mental Health, Leeds and York Partnership Foundation Trust, Bootham Park Hospital, Leeds, UK)

Advances in Autism

ISSN: 2056-3868

Article publication date: 3 January 2017

273

Abstract

Purpose

Leeds autism diagnostic service is an adult autism diagnostic service for people of any intellectual ability which also offers consultancy to service users/carers or professionals, as well as a wide range of autism training. The service was set up as a pilot in 2011 and a paper describing the service development was published in this journal in November 2015. The purpose of this paper is to describe the approach taken to measure the quality of the service the authors provide and accurately assess risk in adults with autism.

Design/methodology/approach

The process of evaluating appropriate outcome measures is described, along with considering appropriate risk assessment tools for use in the community. Over 200 people each year complete the autism diagnostic pathway, and 164 patients were invited to respond to service evaluation questionnaires in 2014.

Findings

To date, the most useful outcome measures for this group include a prospective service user questionnaire which enables service user opinion to influence service development. In the absence of any appropriate autism-specific risk assessment tools, the service has developed one which it is currently piloting. This has proved particularly useful in the consultancy setting

Originality/value

This paper is a follow-up paper looking at the day-to-day issues that the team have had to grapple with – how do you assess whether what you are doing is providing the best possible service for the people that you serve and how do you accurately assess risk in this population?

Keywords

Citation

Stansfield, A.J., Kam, A., Baddams, T., Woodrow, B., Roberts, E., Patel, B. and Davidson, C.J. (2017), "Are we good and are we safe? Measuring quality and assessing risk in an adult autism diagnostic service", Advances in Autism, Vol. 3 No. 1, pp. 15-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/AIA-03-2016-0008

Publisher

:

Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited

Related articles