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Neurodevelopmental Service Assessments (ASD & ADHD) for Under 18s

DPN Ref.  No. 2026 / 02 Neurodevelopmental Service Assessments (ASD & ADHD) for Under 18s

A Data Provision Notice to require the submission of data from NHS Wales Neurodevelopmental Service Assessments (ASD & ADHD) for Under 18s 

Purpose

This notice sets out the requirements for collecting and reporting data for Neurodevelopmental Assessment Services (ASD and ADHD) for children and young people under 18 years. It replaces the original DSCN 2017/08 approach by expanding the data needed to understand referral-to-assessment pathways for ASD and ADHD.

The purpose of the revised collection addresses longstanding issues with data quality, reducing variation by clarifying reporting definitions, and providing additional insight into service activity to support quality assurance improvement and planning. Developed collaboratively by NHS Wales Performance and Improvement (P&I), Welsh Government (WG), Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW) and Health Boards (HBs), the updated data collection provides improved visibility of triage times, long waits (including >52 weeks), and post‑diagnosis outcomes and interventions.

Data collected is currently used for Welsh Government and NHS management purposes. Due to ongoing data quality issues, it is not published at present. In the short term, data publication will remain restricted. Further discussions will be required to determine whether all or part of the data can be published once the framework is established and data reliability is assured.

The collection remains at an aggregated level due to current digital system constraints.

Scope of Collection

This collection captures aggregate data for Children and Young People Neurodevelopmental Services that are either delivered directly or commissioned by HBs across Wales.

The scope includes:

  • Children and young people up to their 18th birthday.
  • Neurodevelopmental conditions, specifically Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). 

Form and Manner

The following HBs offer Neurodevelopmental services and are required to submit this data collection:

  • Aneurin Bevan University Health Board (UHB)
  • Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board (UHB)
  • Cardiff and Vale University Health Board (UHB)
  • Cwm Taf Morgannwg University Health Board (UHB)
  • Hywel Dda University Health Board (UHB)
  • Powys Teaching Health Board (THB)
  • Swansea Bay University Health Board (UHB)

Data will be submitted to NHS Wales Performance and Improvement (P&I), via an Excel spreadsheet. It must be submitted via email to NHSPI_Data.Analytics@wales.nhs.uk.

Any queries can also be directed to NHSPI_Data.Analytics@wales.nhs.uk.

Details of the data items collected, and their definitions can be found in the form provided in the Form Specification and within the supplementary RTT guidance.

Period of Collection

Implementation of the submission will be carried out in three phases. Phase 1 will commence on 1st April 2026. Additional data collection domains for Phase 2 will be introduced on 1st September 2026.

For information, the progress and readiness for Phase 3 will be reviewed in October 2026, with a view to implementing the current or revised set of metrics on 1st April 2027.

The submission date will be the last working day of the month. The date of the first data submission will be 29th May 2026. The form issued by the information requester will contain a list of submission dates for the year.

The frequency of the data submission is monthly.

The data collection will continue until the scheduled review date 1st September 2026.

Read the Data Provision Notice

Change Control

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Reviews

Next Review Date: 1st September 2026

Previous Reviews

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