Who are we?
Norfolk Community Health & Care’s (NCH&C) Neurodevelopmental Service is a team of health professionals who assess children and young people for Autism and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
What is happening with the service?
Across the country, there has been a large increase in the number of children and young people asking to be assessed for neurodivergence. At NCH&C, we too have been receiving very large numbers of referrals. These numbers are much more than our staff can see each month. This means that children and young people who are waiting for an assessment are now waiting more than six years to be seen.
We are looking at how our Neurodevelopmental Service is delivered to ensure that the service runs as best as it can so that children can be seen sooner.
We are working with our system partners (Norfolk County Council, Norfolk & Waveney Integrated Care Board, families, other health providers) to develop a Neurodiversity Transformation Programme which will offer a new way of supporting children, young people and families as soon as they recognise that they may need some support.
What can you do to help?
We are keen for children, young people, parents, and carers who use our services to be involved in our project. These views and opinions are important to us as they will help us design a way of working which understands what local children and their families want.
There are several ways in which you can take part:
- Youth Forum – Young Voices Together – we welcome all children and young people who use our services to join our forum. We will contact you to let you know how you can get involved and help improve our services.
If you are interested, please contact: YoungVoicesTogether@nchc.nhs.uk or call us on 01603 216060, leaving your name and contact details. - Engagement workshops – we are planning regular workshops throughout this project for children and young people, and for parent/carers, where we will seek their views and opinions on areas of development. This may include helping us design a survey to capture the views of those who use our service or looking at resources which can improve support for children and families on our waiting list.
If you are interested in being involved, please contact: YoungVoicesTogether@nchc.nhs.uk or call us on 01603 216060, leaving your name and contact details.