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

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 requirement is set out in the Health and Care Act 2022.