Case studies

Partnership across Greater Manchester to develop a new All-Age Strategy. Ensuring that the strategy meets the needs of autistic people at all stages of the life-course.

The NHS England/Improvement short term funded project took place over three months in 2021 and aimed to engage local autistic people and their families.

A partnership project between Plymouth City Council and Job Centre Plus supports autistic people to find and sustain employment.

The Derby and Derbyshire Autism Partnership Board (APB) has been established for 10 years, has an autistic co-chair and good representation from commissioners, health, providers, parents, and Experts by Experience (EbE’s). Derbyshire County Council support the APB with Derbyshire Autism Service providing an autism friendly meeting room when required

Ronan Carolan set up HealthConex, which specialises in recruiting nurses and care staff to the UK and Ireland, and, having seen a wide variety of practice within the industry, he was driven by a desire to recruit ethically and see candidates as clients, not commodities.

Joint health and care teams have been established in the West Yorkshire district of Wakefield. The teams work from community hubs, helping keep people out of hospital. 

Harrogate Borough Council has set up a community health and wellbeing company, Brimhams Active, to run its gyms, leisure centres and community hubs. 

In Barnsley the hospital trust and council have worked together to create a diagnostic unit in the new retail and leisure centre, which has been developed as part of a £200 million regeneration of the town centre. The diagnostic unit will provide local people with access to a range tests and scans and help reduce the backlog in planned care that has developed during the pandemic.

The Edge Café in Cambridge provides support to people recovering from substance misuse and those with mental health problems by running recovery groups and providing opportunities for volunteering.

An element of drug and alcohol recovery support has been run from a community library since 2019 in Newcastle.