Measures to ensure all NHS staff receive training in learning disabilities and autism now have the full force of the law behind them.
The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism programme has received royal assent.
It has now passed into law as part of the new Health and Care Act 2022.
Oliver had a learning disability, autism, epilepsy and cerebral palsy. He died after suffering an allergic reaction when medics gave him an antipsychotic at the hospital.
His family say the hospital gave him the drug against their wishes and those of the teenager himself.
His brain swelled so much after the antipsychotic that it began to come out of the base of his skull.
In the wake of the tragedy, Paula started a petition to prevent avoidable deaths by making learning disability and autism training mandatory for all NHS staff.
The programme was trialled last year and an evaluation is due to be published in the coming weeks.
‘So much better outcomes’
In a video posted on Twitter, McGowan said other people with learning disabilities and autism would now have “so much better health and social care outcomes”.
McGowan, who was recently awarded the OBE and has been battling cancer, thanked all those who have supported her campaign, including Baroness Sheila Hollins.
Hollins is a professor of the psychiatry of learning disability at St George’s, University of London.
She was a strong supporter of McGowan’s campaign and put forward an amendment to the legislation to enshrine the scheme into law.
Source: Autism Eye
Published: 9 May 2022