New Pro Bono OR Project: National Autistic Society

National Autistic Society Project

Modelling capacity and demand for Autism Diagnostic services 

Project:

Waiting times for an autism diagnosis are unacceptably high, especially for children. This project will explore the demand and capacity for provision of diagnostic services.

Project description:

The National Autistic Society (NAS) thinks that a queuing model might help the organization to understand how much diagnostic capacity would have to increase by to bring down waiting times to within NICE guidelines. The number of services might be analogous to the number of servers (though some will have more capacity than others). There is a diagnosis rate (assessments that lead to a positive diagnoses of autism, per referral) which could be estimated, as well as the average time to conduct an assessment. Population data combined with prevalence estimates could be combined to estimate numbers joining the queue. If a national model is too ambitious, then a model for a ‘typical’ area would still be extremely useful for advice and campaigning and planning any expansion of the diagnostic services which NAS provides.

Volunteers may consider another approach may be appropriate for this project but some form of simulation/modelling of processes will be needed. NAS believes the current process design for autism diagnosis is straightforward and the issue is capacity, not flow or bottlenecks.

Time commitment:  5-6 days

Ideally, the project will be completed by the end of March as NAS is currently in a strategic planning period and would like to use the results to inform plans.

Location: This project could be done remotely but it may be desirable to meet key staff either in London or Bromley.

If you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to amy.hughes@theorsociety.com by Friday 15^th February.

The OR Society fully supports equal opportunities. As such, we welcome applications from the partially sighted or blind, or those with disabilities.

Information about the organisation: 

NAS are the UK's largest provider of specialist autism services. Their trained staff and volunteers bring passion and expertise to the lives of 100,000 autistic people every year. Their goal is to help transform lives, change attitudes and create a society that works for autistic people.

For further information about the food poverty working group please visit https://www.autism.org.uk/ or email Ian.Dale@nas.org.uk

For further information about the Pro Bono OR scheme, please visit:www.theorsociety.com/Probono  or email ProBonoOR@theorsociety.com