The Government has published its 10 Year Health Plan for England, which sets out the plan to “reinvent the NHS through three radical shifts”. Our comment in response to the plan is included below.

Tim Nicholls, Assistant Director of Policy, Research and Strategy at the National Autistic Society, said: "We welcome the Government’s ‘three shifts’ in healthcare, but there is no clear plan for the key issues impacting autistic people and the crisis in waiting times for autism assessments. We, and many autistic people and their families, are worried by this lack of clarity. 

"Autistic people face some of the most extreme inequalities in the healthcare system. For an NHS that is truly ‘fit for the future’, we need to see access to timely autism assessments, accessible physical and mental health services, and an end to autistic people being locked away in mental health hospitals by providing sufficient community services that can meet the needs of autistic people. 

"For too long, autistic people have been misunderstood and misdiagnosed by the healthcare system, without the support they need. We will keep campaigning for an NHS that provides true health equality for autistic people."

Further information

Read about our campaigning work.