Last month, the Health and Care Act 2022 was updated to include mandatory training on learning disabilities and autism. As of 1st July, every CQC-registered provider must ensure that their team receives this training, as appropriate to the individual’s role.

The Government is required to consult on and publish a Code of Practice which will outline the content, delivery and ongoing monitoring and evaluation of the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training, which is training it has developed and trialled. The Government anticipates that the publication of the Code of Practice may take at least 12 months. Please note that at the time of writing, Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training is not yet available.

To be compliant with the Act, your team can complete the tier of training that’s most appropriate to their specific role. Ideally as mandatory training, some guidance from the CQC on the correct tier for staff to study would be useful, but at present, we don’t have anything available. Here’s an explanation of the tiered structure.

If you’re wondering where you can access this mandatory training, look no further than the Practice Index HUB, where you can access the #MyGPandMe Making your practice inclusive for people with learning disabilities eLearning course and also the eLfH Tier 2 training courses (In the HUB go to LEARNING MANAGER > Courses > The ‘ELFH courses’ tab in blue at the top), it’s as easy as that! Onto the content of the courses.

The #MyGpandMe course outlines the nature and extent of health inequalities experienced by people who have a learning disability and autism, the barriers they face and ways to remove them and how organisations can work together to achieve better outcomes for people. This course is suitable for all members of staff working in general practice and will help your team to appropriately support patients of all ages with learning disabilities and autism.

Then there is the Tier 2 course which is primarily aimed at healthcare professionals who will be expected to provide care, support and interventions for people of all ages with learning disabilities and autism. There are ten modules within Tier 2, five for children and young people and five for adults, with content covering epilepsy, physical health, transfer from youth services to adult learning disability mental health, psychosis and mood disorders.

Right, over to you! You’ll need to decide what training each member of your team needs to complete, remembering that this is now a mandatory training requirement. The CQC will be checking to ensure that all staff have completed the most relevant level of training.

We will update you once the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training course goes live.