Mandatory training for the health and care workforce to improve support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

In 2022 the Government introduced a new mandatory training requirement for all health and care staff working in regulated services; it is about improving support for people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

The training is often associated with a young autistic person named Oliver McGowan, whose death further highlighted the ongoing need for better training for health and social care staff. The intention is to help staff understand the needs of people with learning disabilities and autistic people and how to provide them with safe, compassionate and informed care.

The training has both online and live components available to all health and care staff. It is designed to be flexible and accessible. It covers a range of topics, including:

  • the needs of autistic people and people with learning disabilities
  • communication and interaction
  • physical health and wellbeing
  • mental health and wellbeing
  • safeguarding
  • equality and diversity

The government is committed to ensuring that all people with learning disabilities and autistic people have access to high-quality care. The new mandatory training is an important step in achieving this goal.

The first part of the training is already available online for free. A contract to develop the second interactive webinar and in-person components of the training has been awarded to a local partnership led by Bemix, a social enterprise co-led by people with learning disabilities, with Aucademy, a team of autistic educators, Kent Autistic Trust and Canterbury Christ Church University. The partnership will engage health and care providers in the autumn of 2024 to make sure the design and delivery of training is tailored to their needs and budgets, with training scheduled to be available from April 2025.

We encourage all health and care staff to take the training and to use it to improve their understanding of the needs of people with learning disabilities and autistic people.

If you are a Kent and Medway health care provider, please

  • familiarise yourself with what the regulator (Care Quality Commission) for health and care in England has to say about training staff to support autistic people and people with a learning disability
  • check if your organisation has already added the mandated training to your online learning platform:
    • If they have, please try to complete it as soon as possible and join the growing number of health and care staff who have already completed it across Kent and Medway.
    • If you are unsure ask your organisation's learning and development team for assurance and updates.
  • if your organisation or individual staff can't access the training any other way you can register for freely available eLearning that can be completed now. This will provide the foundation for future live training, which will be co-delivered by experts with experience. This is being developed for health and care staff across the Kent and Medway system.
  • If you have any questions please email kmicb.ommt@nhs.net with the subject 'Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training'.

Soon we will be introducing a 'register your interest' option. Please check this page for updates.

Mandatory training for the health and social care workforce - easy read

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