Our Trust welcome the publication of a new National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) quality standard to improve diagnosis and assessment of Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder (FASD) in children and young people, today.
The quality standard also covers the advice and support mothers should be provided with during pregnancy to prevent FASD. FASDs are disorders that can occur in a person who was exposed to alcohol before birth. These effects can include physical problems and problems with behaviour and learning.
Our Trust provided the UK with the first specialist FASD clinic in 2009. It remains the only NHS specialist clinic for assessing and treating children and adults with FASD. The clinic is led by Consultant Psychiatrist, Raja Mukherjee, who was the specialist member of the NICE advisory committee responsible for drawing up the quality standard on FASD.
“I am delighted to see this comprehensive quality standard published today. It has been a 20-year journey to get to this point. The quality standard will significantly help to drive forward improvements in diagnosis and assessment of FASD and will lead to new pathways and services to improve the care people receive.”
The quality standard highlights five key areas for improvement:
- Pregnant women are given advice throughout pregnancy not to drink alcohol.
- Pregnant women are asked about their alcohol use throughout their pregnancy, and this is recorded.
- Children and young people with probable prenatal alcohol exposure and significant physical, developmental, or behavioural difficulties are referred for assessment.
- Children and young people with confirmed prenatal alcohol exposure or all 3 facial features associated with prenatal alcohol exposure have a neurodevelopmental assessment if there are clinical concerns.
- Children and young people with a diagnosis of FASD have a management plan to address their needs.
For more information about our FASD clinic, please visit the clinic's website.
For more information about the NICE quality standard to improve diagnosis and assessment of FASD, visit the NICE website.