A MENTAL health charity has called for greater efforts to support people with autism in an area where patients are facing more than double the national guideline time to be diagnosed.

Gary Emerson, chief officer of Darlington Mind, urged Darlington Borough Council and NHS bosses to plough more resources into tackling issues surrounding the 26-week average wait for an adult autism diagnosis in the borough.

Ahead of the council’s cabinet considering a raft of measures to enhance and support autism services, the charity boss said families were facing sustained pressures as the autism assessment process could take three or four years for some patients and support services were lacking .

A report by the council’s adults and housing scrutiny committee states while diagnosis waiting times were above average in Darlington and longer than the average of seven weeks for Stockton, Middlesbrough and Redcar and Cleveland, the situation was better than across Durham, where patients had an average 56-week wait.

The report states the councillors examining autism support service provision in the borough were “relatively satisfied”, but had recommended that a review of the diagnosis process considered rising numbers of people being diagnosed and that “meaningful engagement” be undertaken with individuals and their parents for individual care planning.

To cut waiting, the report recommended continuing a workforce development programme and that knowledge of autism be promoted within NHS primary care.

Mr Emerson said the recommendations needed backing up with investment by the NHS and the council in social care.

He said MIND had been trying to get funding for day care services for high functioning people with autism, as there were no services to support them. Mr Emerson said: “Whilst things are better in Darlington, they are still not good and MIND believes adults with autism are a forgotten group despite awareness having been raised in recent years.”