WEST WORCESTERSHIRE MP Dame Harriett Baldwin has welcomed news that parents are able to access help quicker to support children with extra needs.
Over the last five years, the social care system has seen a significant rise in supporting children with extra needs and a spike in demand for diagnosis of conditions such as autism and attention deficit disorder.
The MP has met with senior leadership at the county’s medical and education teams to hear of the challenges they are facing and understand the steps being taken to speed up diagnosis and support.
Dame Harriett also met with a delegation of county parents who wanted to share their views on the children’s health and social care systems.
Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care Trust clinicians have improved their processes to ensure children are assessed much quicker and Worcestershire County Council now issues a care plan for 80 per cent of applications within 16 weeks.
Dame Harriett said: “It is abundantly clear that the healthcare and education systems have seen a significant spike in demand, and I have met with both teams to hear what steps they are taking to improve diagnosis and support.
“I do my best to support parents who reach out to me at what is clearly a difficult time, and I encourage constituents who need help to contact me. I’ve also listened to the passionate testimony of a local lobby group who travelled to Westminster to share their views.
“The general public’s view has been that it takes too long to get a mental health assessment for a young person and that the county council takes too long to issue a care plan.
“I’ve been keen to hear the facts, and I have encouraged both teams to do more to communicate better with parents and the wider public to share the progress they have made on this vital issue.”
