Do you work with autistic people or people who have a learning disability in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire?

Do you want more autistic people and people with learning disabilities to receive services at home and in their communities, rather than in hospital?

Do you have ideas on how we can reduce inappropriate mental health admissions for autistic people and people with learning disabilities?

Then we want to hear from you!

Our Integrated Care System, Healthier Together, is working to reduce the number of inappropriate mental health admissions for autistic people and people with a learning disability in our local area.

One of the ways we are doing this is through the Dynamic Support Register. This is an all-age list of autistic people and people with a learning disability (subject to their consent) which allows staff to better support individuals at risk of a mental health hospital admission. You can read more about the Dynamic Support Register on the NHS website.

We are also reviewing the current pathway of care, so that we can understand what is working well and where improvements need to be made.

Your opinions and expertise are key to informing the direction we should be taking.

We will be holding three online workshops to hear the views of local frontline staff:

• Wednesday 5 June, 10am – 11am
• Tuesday 11 June, 11am – 12pm
• Thursday 20 June, 10am – 11am

We want to understand:

1. What works well in supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability when they are facing a mental health crisis in your service area?
2. What is the biggest challenge that you face in supporting autistic people and people with a learning disability when they are facing a mental health crisis in your service area?
3. What needs to change to reduce inappropriate hospital admissions?

There will be no personal information attached to any opinions that you give in this meeting. However, if you prefer, you can also fill out our confidential survey. The survey will be open until Sunday 30 June 2024.

If you can’t make any of the workshops, would prefer to speak privately to a member of the team, or have any questions, contact Paige Williams (project lead) at paige.williams@bristol.gov.uk or on 07920 482845.

Thank you for all the work you do to support some of our most vulnerable communities in Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire. We look forward to hearing from you.

Paige, Hannah and Liam

The Dynamic Support Register Project Team

Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Learning Disability and Autism Development Team (hosted by Bristol City Council).