Local private hospital honoured with prestigious autism award
25 February 2025
Spire Leeds Hospital has been awarded a prestigious Autism Accreditation by the National Autistic Society, the UK’s leading charity for autistic people. The Inclusion award standards support provisions in addressing the specific barriers that autistic people often experience, especially those in a healthcare environment.
The society highlighted that the hospital has robust processes in place to ensure all colleagues receive autism training. Auditors praised departmental neurodiversity champions for ensuring reasonable adjustments were in place, such as allocating extra time, providing sensory boxes and offering a quiet room when necessary. It was also noted that colleagues across the site were able to demonstrate a passion for providing high quality hospital care and treatment to autistic people.
Autism is a lifelong disability which affects how people communicate and interact with the world. At least one in 100 people are autistic, equating to more than 700,000 people in the UK alone.
Christine Flintoft-Smith, Head of Autism Accreditation and Projects at the National Autistic Society, said: “Spire Leeds Hospital should be exceptionally proud of their achievement. The National Autistic Society’s Autism Accreditation programme was launched over 25 years ago and sets extremely high standards, which the hospital has worked incredibly hard to meet.”
Alison Gilroy, Lead Paediatric Nurse at Spire Leeds Hospital, said: “The team have worked tirelessly to ensure Spire Leeds Hospital is a safe space for neurodiverse patients, visitors and colleagues; the recognition is a true reflection of our commitment to making a positive difference to our people’s lives every day.”
The team at Spire Leeds Hospital proudly displaying their Autism Accreditation Award