(UK) Cambs: >2,300 children waiting for ASD/ADHD assessment; some up to 3 years
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More than 2,300 children across Cambridgeshire are waiting for autism or ADHD assessments, with over a thousand stuck on lists for more than a year and some families enduring waits of up to three years, according to new figures presented to county councillors.
A hard‑hitting report laid before Cambridgeshire County Council’s Health Scrutiny Committee reveals a local system buckling under rising demand, workforce shortages and spiralling caseload complexity—leaving parents in limbo and children waiting through critical years of development.
Health leaders conceded that despite pilot projects and emergency funding, demand for autism assessments in Cambridgeshire has grown faster than the NHS’s ability to deliver them.
“Demand for and complexity of neurodevelopmental assessments has increased faster than diagnostic capacity, resulting in longer waiting times nationally and locally,” the report states.
Primary‑school children bearing the brunt
Autism assessments for younger children are carried out by Cambridgeshire Community Services NHS Trust (CCS), which has seen referrals surge since the pandemic.
Before Covid, the service received fewer than 100 referrals a month. Since early 2022, that number has jumped to more than 135 per month, with unpredictable peaks that make staffing and clinic planning increasingly difficult.
As of March 2026, CCS reported:
2,385 Cambridgeshire children waiting for their first neurodevelopmental assessment
1,007 children waiting between one and two years
130 children waiting between two and three years
The report confirms that while children under five are generally assessed more quickly, the pressure is now overwhelmingly concentrated among primary‑school‑aged children.
For families, that means children can spend most—or all—of their early school years without clarity or formal recognition of their needs.
Teenagers facing year‑long waits
Older children and teenagers are assessed by Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT) through specialist CAMHS neurodevelopmental teams.. . .
One of the key pressures is increasing complexity.
“Many children and young people referred present with co‑occurring needs, such as ADHD or learning disabilities, which require more detailed multidisciplinary assessments and therefore longer clinical input,” the report explains. . . .
The report acknowledges the real‑world impact on families:
“It can be difficult to provide families with precise timelines for when their child’s assessment will take place, which can understandably add to uncertainty while waiting.”
Families turning private as waits grow
Faced with mounting delays, increasing numbers of Cambridgeshire families are seeking assessments through the Right to Choose route or paying privately—something health leaders warned risks creating inequality. . . .
Emergency action for longest waits
In response to the growing backlog, the NHS in Cambridgeshire has introduced a series of short‑term measures.
At CCS, a temporary multidisciplinary team has been redeployed to focus solely on children who have waited the longest aiming to assess 200 children who have already been waiting more than 104 weeks. . . .
CPFT has:
Introduced weekend autism clinics
Commissioned an external provider to complete around 300 additional autism assessments
These measures are funded through short‑term NHS England investment.
CAMHS overhaul underway
Alongside emergency fixes, CPFT is undertaking a large‑scale CAMHS Transformation Programme to redesign pathways and reduce waiting lists.. . .
families before wider rollout.
A problem that won’t disappear
Despite pilot projects, extra clinics and restructuring plans, the report concludes with a blunt assessment:
“The challenges of increased awareness, demand for diagnosis and strained resources remain a system and national challenge.” . . .
The NHS says improvements are coming—but the figures laid before councillors make clear that for many families, the wait is far from over.
The Cambridgeshire County Council Health Scrutiny Committee meeting on 24 March 2026.
The committee examined growing pressures on children’s autism and ADHD services, with senior NHS leaders acknowledging long waits, rising demand and system-wide constraints. . . .
Kathryn Goose, Head of Children and Young People’s Mental Health at the ICB, who oversees strategic planning for these services, outlined the scale of demand. Autism and ADHD were considered together due to overlapping needs and pathways.
She explained that referrals have risen sharply both nationally and locally, significantly outstripping capacity. Waiting times remain long and fluctuate during the year, often linked to school referral patterns. . . .
