Autistic People & Carers UK - NHS Autism Services Postcode Lottery

📢 Healthcare inequality still very much exists in the UK in 2026... 📢 We all know how exhausting it is to fight for the right support. In some areas across the UK, hospitals and communities have amazing Autism Liaison Teams or Autism Community Specialist Nurses... in others you are handed a diagnosis and left completely on your own 🤷🏼♀️ To help demonstrate this "postcode lottery" to decision makers and try to put together something to make a difference, I have sent Freedom of Information (FOI) requests to NHS Trusts & ICB's across the UK... But I also want to hear and share real lived experience. I have my own experiences from my role as a social worker however real life testimonies from the people this truly affects are also integral to collate a report that I can share far and wide. If you are an autistic individual, a parent or a carer, a healthcare professional or social worker or other professional... I want to hear your story - positive or negative: ❓ Have you been admitted to hospital and struggled because there was no specialist team to help with sensory adjustments or communication? ❓️Does your local community/hospital have an Autism specialist team/service? ❓ What happened after you or your family member got a diagnosis? Was there any support available in your community? ❓ Have you had to reach a complete crisis point before getting noticed by local services? ❓️Have you / your loved one had support from a specialist Autism Mental Health Team in the community if required? Has any specialist mental health support been available? ❓️For Professionals - what is your experience of the impact of having / not having a Specialist Autism Service in communities and hospitals? Every story matters. By sharing your experiences you can help me start to build an undeniable case for universal NHS Specialist Autism services across the UK 🏥🩺 🔒 Your privacy is safe - Anything you share with me will be entirely anonymised. 💬 Please comment below or send me a private message if you are willing to share your experience. Please do share/tag people/comment on this post to help it reach as many people as possible! 🫂📍🙏🏻✨️ #AutismAwareness #HealthCareInequalitiesUK #Equality #LivedExperience #AutismServices #NHS #PostcodeLottery #Neurodiversity #Autism #UK