During 2021, Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust formed one of four national partners appointed to co-design and co-deliver the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training in Learning Disability and Autism, as part of a national trial across the health and care sectors to develop a standardised training package.The training is named after 18-year-old Oliver McGowan, and is the result of tireless campaigning, especially from Oliver’s parents Tom and Paula, who have been at the forefront of calls for better understanding and training for health and care professionals since Oliver’s tragic death in 2016.
Following the national trial there was a period of evaluation earlier this year, during which Oliver’s training passed into law as part of the Health and Care Act 2022 in May. When it becomes mandatory in England in 2022/23, the training will educate and train health and social care staff, at the right level for their role, to provide better health and social care outcomes for people with a learning disability and autistic people.
NDTi the independent evaluator for the training trial has recently reported its findings. You can read the evaluation report in full here: https://bit.ly/3OMPHN5
You can read more about Oliver’s story and his training here: https://bit.ly/3Aon9RN
