Take action!!
FASD Awareness Month
actions:
- Check out what National FASD’s report, “Not Commissioned” says about your local area (for those in England and Wales)
Contact your local healthcare officials to find out what their plans are for ramping up FASD services (for everyone across the UK)
Highlight ways that FASD services in your area need to be improved and tell them why it matters to you and your family
Hashtags:
#FASDNotCommissioned
#FASDGrowsUp
#NationalFASD
BACKGROUND
There has been a huge policy shift with FASD prevention, recognition and support receiving more attention in the UK that it has done in the past 50 years. Now that FASD has been recognised as a public health priority, it’s time for local policy makers to commission pathways and services for FASD.
All public health bodies have to take into account feedback from stakeholders and service users – that’s you!
Whether you have FASD, are a family member or supporter of someone with FASD or if you are a practitioner, educator or other professional who supports pregnant people or people with FASD or suspected FASD in your professional capacity, it’s important that you reach out to your local Integrated Care Boards, Health Boards, etc. (We have contact information below.)
Sample text for an email/letter
I am writing to you as a stakeholder and service user to ask what your plans are to improve FASD services in [INSERT YOUR AREA]. In recent years public health bodies across the UK have identified the need for improved services for FASD (Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder) prevention, recognition, diagnosis and support and have put in place guidance on steps needed.
[FOR THOSE IN ENGLAND/WALES] As a service user I would like to inquire what steps you have taken two years after the NICE Quality Standard on FASD to improve local services. NICE suggests that it’s important to develop an action or commissioning plan. A new report from The National Organisation for FASD shows that our area is [insert whether the ICB/Health Board is taking action, taking partial action, not taking action or read their response if they didn’t reply by the report deadline.]
[FOR THOSE IN SCOTLAND/NI] You may be aware that NICE has issued a Quality Standard on FASD that outline measurable steps to improve quality of care. I would like to know what we are doing here in [SCOTLAND/NI] to put in place measurable targets as has been done in England and Wales for the prevention of alcohol-exposed pregnancies and diagnosis and support for those with FASD and what you are doing to include service users in that process.
National FASD’s report (2024), “Not Commissioned: Systemic Confusion in NHS services for alcohol, pregnancy and FASD,” contains information about best practice in improvement in quality of services based on NICE Quality Standard 204, based on Freedom of Information requests.
A document, The Time is Now: The National Perspective on Ramping up FASD Prevention, Diagnosis and Support Services is available to provide insights into ways forward. This outlines examples of best practice and is based on 9 roundtables with more than 60 experts, practitioners, commissioners, leaders of the Third Sector and those with lived experience.
For background on FASD, please see https://nationalfasd.org.uk/about-fasd/what-is-fasd/.
[INSERT A SHORT SUMMARY ABOUT YOUR CONNECTION TO FASD AND WHY YOU THINK IT’S IMPORTANT FOR THEM TO SCALE UP SERVICES]
Sincerely yours,
[GIVE YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, EMAIL, PHONE]
Contact Information
Please note these details are provided to the best of our knowledge at the time of printing. We have provided where possible the name of the chair of the boards, though they may not be the ones most directly involved in providing FASD services and a reply to you might be from another person. Where possible we give links for the boards – you could always write to all on the board, or to the medical directors, etc. Get creative! And be sure to make your email/ letter/ call positive and personal. Offer to roll up sleeves and meet with them to help improve lives.
England
You can find a list of your local Integrated Care System leadership here.
Scotland
Find your health boards here.
Wales
If you are unsure which is your healthboard, this site shows a list of areas covered by each. There is a list of local health boards here.
Northern Ireland
A list of the Health and Social Care Trusts in Northern Ireland is here.
Click here to download background about FASD.
Or go here for more info on our website.
For children and young people – go to www.fasd.me.
