07/06/2025
Western Trust Children and Young People’s Autism Early Intervention Service is celebrating their success in the annual UK Advancing Healthcare Awards held in London recently.
The Service won the Northern Ireland Government’s award for clinical impact to address healthcare inequalities with their nomination for ‘Doing Things Differently – Using a neuro-affirming approach to see beyond the label’.
The Early Intervention Service, established in 2021 is a small team of dynamic, caring clinicians working alongside families, who have brought new ways of working with huge benefits for those awaiting Autism assessment. The teams innovative model reduces healthcare inequalities – bridging the gap from referral to assessment leading to better outcomes for all.
Sarah McElholm, Early Intervention Service Lead in the Western Trust said:
“We are thrilled to have received this UK award which recognises the huge impact our service is having on children, young people and their families. We acknowledge that waiting times for autism assessment are much longer than we would like, however, we are a very passionate and dedicated team eager to provide timely needs-based invention to families as they begin their Autism journey”
As a team we have listened to parents/carers and have carefully co-designed specialist interventions for them as they navigate their journey within the Autism service. The Early Intervention Service provides immediate, needs-led support whilst families await assessment which addresses a previously unmet need and in turn prevents more long-term adverse outcomes for our children and young people. We are immensely proud of this award having supported over 2,300 new families to date.”
Congratulating the Early Intervention Service Dr Tom Cassidy, Director of Children and Families and Executive Director of Social Work said:
“I am delighted with the success of our incredible Early Intervention Service within the Children and Young People’s Autism Service. It is a privilege to work along with such dedicated, innovative and committed professionals who continue to provide the highest standard of care and early intervention support to our children, young people and their families. Well done to all of the team, we are very proud of your achievements!”