Government launches consultation on minimum standards for GP autism training

The Government is consulting on a draft code of practice which will ensure health and care staff, including GPs, receive training on learning disabilities and autism ‘appropriate to their role’.

Since July last year, all CQC-registered health and social care providers including GP practices in England have been required to provide training for their staff in learning disability and autism, including how to interact with autistic people and people who have a learning disability.

The legal requirement was introduced by the Health and Care Act 2022, but the Government has now launched a consultation on the Oliver McGowan Code of Practice, which outlines how providers can meet the new requirement.

The BMA’s GP Committee last month said that the Act does not specify a training package or course for staff and that the CQC ‘cannot tell practices specifically how to meet their legal requirements in relation to training’.

The Government’s draft code says that CQC-registered providers must ensure that all staff, regardless of role or level of seniority, have ‘the right attitude and skills to support people with a learning disability and autistic people’ and will need to demonstrate to the CQC how their training meets or exceeds the standards set out in the code.

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Source: Pulse, 29 June 2023