Trust psychologist wins role of national autism adviser
Clinical lead for CPFT’s specialist autism clinic, Dr Janine Robinson, has been appointed as National Specialty Adviser for Autism by NHS England and NHS Improvement.
Janine has started her new post in World Autism Awareness Week, linking care delivery with national work to improve outcomes for people with autism.
The role recognises Janine’s experience as a Consultant Clinical Psychologist specialising in the field of adult autism. Over 20 years, she has contributed to training, supervision and clinical research in autism with the goal of improving identification and autistic individuals’ experiences of the NHS and wider public services.
Janine (pictured above) said: “I am excited and feel privileged to be joining NHS England and NHS Improvement’s Learning Disability and Autism team. As a National Specialty Adviser for Autism, I hope to draw on my direct clinical experience in the field of adult autism identification and diagnosis, capacity building across services and importantly, embedding collaborative models of working with autistic individuals and the wider autism community.”
The role of Specialty Adviser will focus on supporting the NHS Long-Term Plan and the priorities identified for autism across the spectrum and across the lifespan. Janine will continue to lead her clinical team at the Cambridge Lifespan Autism Spectrum Service (CLASS) Clinic, informing and shaping improvement projects with experience from frontline care.
Janine added: “To improve outcomes for individuals and their families, we need an informed workforce, translation of research for patient benefit and implementation of improvement initiatives.
“We know there is a lot of good work happening across services and across regions. Connecting people and sharing evidence of good practice and innovative systems changes can lead to benefits for all. There may be more immediate priorities in the current circumstances, but the goal is to develop sustainable autism accessible practices across all sectors.”
In 2016, Janine completed a one-year research Fellowship with the Collaboration for Leadership in Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) East of England (now the National Institute for Health Research Applied Research Collaboration East of England) and presented her findings at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR) conference in Canada last year. She has trained as a Principal Investigator with CPFT's Windsor Research Unit to lead more autism research projects at the Trust.
