THE waiting list for adult autism assessments in Bradford could be cleared by Summer, shocked Councillors have been told.

Members of Bradford Council’s Health and Social Care Scrutiny Committee initially found it hard to believe that the district’s waiting list of 161 adults could be cleared in such a short time, but were assured by health bosses that it was likely to happen.

The Committee were receiving an update on autism services in the district - a service which was criticised in a report by Healthwatch last year. That report revealed that some people were waiting years for an autism diagnosis, and could not access specialist services until they had one.

Early on in the discussion at Wednesday’s meeting, Ali Jan Haider, Director Of Strategic Partnerships at NHS Bradford Districts Clinical Commissioning Group, revealed that the local health service had asked for help from their Leeds counterparts to deal with the large waiting list for adults.

He said: “They advised us that the quality was there, but they helped us to focus more on efficiency.

“We were offering a top drawer service, but were offering more than was needed. We needed to be more efficient which would allow us to increase the number of patients we deal with. With their help we should be able to get the waiting list to zero by summer.”

People in Bradford with autism 'in limbo' as some wait three years for assessment

Chair of the Committee Councillor Vanda Greenwood (Lab, Windhill and Wrose) asked which summer he was referring to. When Mr Haider said he meant this summer, members seemed surprised at the speed of the turnaround.

He responded: “We have been able to introduce a new system that is tried and tested in Leeds. There were some people on the waiting list who were not in need of this assessment. Now we are able to focus on those that do. We were providing a service beyond what was needed.”

The committee seemed sceptical that such a simple change could reduce the waiting list so swiftly.

Cllr Greenwood said: “If we can get the waiting list down to zero by Summer, what the hell has been going on over the last few years?”

They were told that previously the health service had been “un-selective” over who it referred to an autism assessment, and a new screening process would mean only those who genuinely needed an assessment would go on the waiting list. Those who did not need assessments would be referred to other services.

Members pointed out that waiting lists had been closed to new referrals since 2016. They were told that with the existing backlog cleared, the service would be better equipped to deal with new referrals.