Case Study: Kent and Medway Children and Young People's Neurodivergence Programme

Client: NHS Kent & Medway Integrated Care Board

Date: April 2024 - Ongoing

Challenges faced by the client:

At the start of the programme, the Children and Young People’s (CYP) Neurodivergence (ND) pathways had long waiting times for assessments, with limited support offered while waiting, which could adversely affect the experience and outcomes for CYP. Demand for assessments is increasing nationally and some CYP are on multiple waiting lists, which can affect reporting and data. There are also issues with Shared Care arrangements, e.g., for ADHD medication, with variation across the system. In response to this context, some families are seeking private diagnoses without full awareness of the implications, particularly regarding prescribing.

Support offered:

Mutual Ventures (MV) provided overall programme management, ensuring that the programme progressed in line with agreed priorities and met defined timescales. MV also co-ordinated, facilitated and chaired programme meetings, including very well attended Clinical Away Days. MV supported the prioritisation of current waiting lists, including data collation and identification of trends. MV undertook extensive engagement with a wide range of stakeholders across the system, from NHS providers, local authorities, Education, patient representatives, and regional NHS England leads, to ensure alignment and effective communication across the programme.

Outcome achieved:

As of April 2025, the programme has made significant progress in addressing the challenges faced by CYP and families in Kent and Medway. The revised Prioritisation Criteria were successfully implemented; the new Integrated Neurodevelopment Support Model for Children and Young People (“This Is Me”) has been rolled out across Maidstone; and Clinical Away Days have increased alignment and understanding across all of the provider teams, including confirmation of system positions on Right To Choose.

Client quotes:

Nikki Clark, Director of Specialist Services, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust:

“You have been a great support to us and we could not have achieved as much as we have without you”.

For more information on Mutual Venture's work supporting the Kent and Medway Children and Young People's Neurodivergence Programme, see our recent article: Changing the Culture: a new approach to supporting children with neurodivergence

Matt Carter is Principal Consultant at Mutual Ventures, a consultancy that specialises in transforming public services. For more on our work in the NHS and to hear about how we could help your organisation, contact matt@mutualventures.co.uk.