Why the Oliver McGowan Training Exists

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training was created in the wake [...]

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Categories: Ambulance Service

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The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training was created in the wake of a tragic and avoidable death. Oliver McGowan was a young autistic man with a learning disability who died in hospital after being given incorrect medication. Staff caring for him had misjudged his needs, ignored warnings from his family and failed to provide appropriate support.

His death and the subsequent campaign by his family exposed systemic flaws in how health and social care services treat autistic people and people with learning disabilities. In response, and in recognition that many staff lacked the awareness or training to deliver safe, person-centred care, a new national training standard was developed: the Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism.

With the enactment of the Health and Care Act 2022, all health and social care providers regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC) are required to ensure staff receive training appropriate to their role on learning disability and autism. The Oliver McGowan Training has become the government’s preferred and recommended way for organisations to meet that requirement.

What the Training Involves: Structure & Delivery

The OMMT is built around two tiers; the tier you need depends on your role and the level of contact you have with patients or service users.

  • Tier 1 — Intended for staff who need general awareness, including non-clinical, administrative or ancillary staff. It has two parts:

    1. A free e-learning module (via the national e-learning platform for healthcare)

    2. A live, interactive online session (approximately one hour) to reinforce learning.

  • Tier 2 — For staff providing direct care or support to people with learning disabilities or autism (clinical staff, ambulance personnel, social care support, etc.). This involves:

    1. The same e-learning as Tier 1 (as a prerequisite)

    2. A full-day, face-to-face classroom-based session (or, in some cases, split over two days).

Importantly, the training is co-produced and co-delivered: sessions are run not only by facilitators, but also by “Experts by Lived Experience” (EBLEs) — autistic people and people with learning disabilities themselves. This ensures the teaching reflects real-world lived experience and gives participants genuine insight into what it’s like to receive care as a neurodivergent or learning-disabled person.

The training curriculum covers:

  • What constitutes a learning disability and autism; differences in communication, perception, and sensory experiences.

  • Why “reasonable adjustments” matter — how to adapt communication, care, environment to meet individual needs.

  • Use of plain language, simple communication, awareness of sensory needs and triggers.

  • Real patient stories, reflections, and open Q&A — allowing staff to appreciate the difference good or bad care can make.

Who Should Attend & Why It Matters for Ambulance & Healthcare Professionals

Because OMMT is now embedded in national policy and regulations, all health and social care staff should receive the training appropriate to their role. For ambulance services and other emergency or frontline health roles, this is especially important.

Specifically, staff who should do Tier 2 include: paramedics, ambulance clinicians, emergency department staff, mental health professionals, social care workers — essentially anyone providing direct care or decision-making for people with learning disabilities or autism.

Even non-clinical staff who may have occasional contact (receptionists, admin, call-centre staff) should do Tier 1, to ensure they have baseline awareness of the needs of neurodivergent people.

For ambulance professionals, training is not a “nice to have”; it’s critical. In emergency response, assessments often need to be made quickly. Without understanding or recognition of learning disabilities or autistic traits, there is a real risk that behaviours, communication difficulties or sensory distress could be misinterpreted, leading to inappropriate care or even harm. OMMT helps build the skills and empathy to avoid those mistakes.

The Impact: What the Training Has Achieved and Its Ongoing Potential

  • As of a recent milestone, over one million people had completed the first (e-learning) element of Oliver McGowan Training, showing the scale of uptake across the UK health and care workforce. KLTV

  • In a regional example, a single hospital Trust rolled out the training to over 2,600 staff, with sessions fully booked — highlighting strong demand and recognition that this training is essential, not optional. University Hospitals of North Midlands

  • Because the training is co-designed with, and co-delivered by, autistic people and people with learning disabilities, feedback from participants suggests it opens doors to more genuine empathy, better communication, and more inclusive practice, not just theoretical knowledge.

  • At a systemic level, the training represents a national shift in culture, one that acknowledges neurodivergent and learning-disabled people’s right to safe, respectful, well-adjusted care. For ambulance services and emergency medicine, that shift could mark the difference between tragic outcomes and safe, compassionate care.

The formal “Code of Practice” for Oliver McGowan Training aims to standardise quality, accreditation and evaluation, which should help consolidate long-term improvements across health and social care.

What This Means for Halo Group, and What We Do

For Halo Group, promoting awareness of and access to the Oliver McGowan Training is aligned with our mission to support inclusive, compassionate care. Here are some suggestions and reflections:

  • Facilitate all frontline staff to complete the training.

  • Use lived-experience voices. We recognise that if the training is co-delivered by autistic people or people with a learning disability, we encourage participation. Learning directly from lived experience tends to have a deeper impact.

  • Embed regular refreshers, as the guidance suggests; training should not be one-off. Periodic refreshers or updates help ensure staff maintain awareness and adapt to changing best practices.

  • Advocate for system change beyond individual training. We encourage services to adapt policies, practices, communication styles, and environments to better support neurodivergent and learning-disabled patients.

  • Monitor and provide feedback. After training, gather feedback from staff and patients/families to see if care, communication and outcomes improve. Use this to shape future training or organisational improvements.

More Than Training: A Step Towards Real, Inclusive Change

The Oliver McGowan Mandatory Training is more than just another compliance requirement. It stands as a powerful statement that people with learning disabilities or autism deserve to be understood, heard, and respected, especially in moments of vulnerability when they rely on healthcare and emergency services.

For ambulance professionals, paramedics, and all health and social care staff, the training offers a practical path to improved empathy, safer care, and a better chance that tragedy like Oliver’s death is not repeated. For organisations like Halo Group, committed to high-quality care and inclusion, embracing OMMT is a moral, professional, and practical imperative