From 1st July 2022, all health and social care providers registered with the CQC must ensure that their staff receive training on interacting appropriately with people with a learning disability and autistic people at a level appropriate to their role. This new legal requirement is introduced by the Health and Care Act 2022. 

The Government is required to consult and publish a Code of Practice, which would outline the content, delivery and ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training that it has developed. It is anticipated that it will take at least 12 months to publish the Code of Practice.

The CQC will provide statutory guidance until the Code of Practice is published. During the assessments and inspections of providers, they will regularly look to see if staff are working with people appropriately. If not, they will consider what training and support have been provided to staff to ensure their understanding. Following the introduction of this requirement, they will be looking to see whether staff have received this training and whether providers have assessed the competencies of their team following the training. They won’t be looking at what the training itself has involved.

Debbie Ivanova, Director for People with a Learning Disability and Autistic People, said:

“We welcome this important step taken by the Government. By ensuring that staff in all services receive training appropriate to their role – whether in an acute hospital, dentist practice, GP surgery, or a place where people live – they will be able to further develop the skills to make sure that people with a learning disability and autistic people receive the right care.” 

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism

What is The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism?

This training will ensure that health and social care staff receive learning disability and autism training at a level suitable for their role. It will equip them with a greater understanding of people’s needs, resulting in better services and improved health and well-being outcomes.

Where did it come from?

In November 2019, the Government published the ‘Right to be Heard’ – its response to the consultation on the proposals for introducing mandatory learning disability and autism training for health and social care staff.

The response included a commitment to developing a standardised training package. The training will draw on existing best practices, the expertise of autistic people, people with learning disabilities and family carers, and subject matter experts.

Why is it called The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism?

The training is named after Oliver McGowan, whose death highlighted the need for health and social care staff to receive better training. Further information about Oliver and his story can be found at the Oliver McGowan website.

The Health and Care Act 2022

The Government has now introduced a requirement for CQC registered service providers to ensure that their employees receive learning disability and autism training appropriate to their role. This has been implemented to ensure that the health and social care workforce has the right skills and knowledge to provide safe, compassionate, and informed care to autistic people and people with learning disabilities. This requirement is set out in the Health and Care Act 2022.

The Secretary of State must publish a Code of Practice, which will make provisions about the nature of the training, including the content, delivery and ongoing evaluation of training. The Government must conduct a public consultation on the Code of Practice. The timings of the consultation are currently under consideration.

What’s Next?

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism package isn’t available yet. The Department of Health and Social Care are exploring with statutory bodies (NHS England and Health Education England), as well as with Skills for Care, in which elements of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism programme can start to be delivered while the Code of Practice is being produced.