April 2, 2022, Guardian: Autistic children wait up to five years for an NHS appointment https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/apr/02/children-with-autism-wait-up-to-five-years-for-an-nhs-appointment
Children are having to wait up to five years for an NHS autism appointment, according to figures obtained by the Observer that lay bare the crisis in children’s mental health services.
Figures acquired under the Freedom of Information Act show that 2,835 autistic children referrals at Coventry and Warwickshire Partnership NHS Trust have still not had a first appointment an average of 88 weeks after being referred. The longest wait at the time the response was sent in January stood at 251 weeks – nearly five years.
Meanwhile, 1,250 children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) referrals at the trust have yet to have a first appointment, having waited an average of 46 weeks – and 195 weeks in the worst case.
Berkshire Healthcare NHS Trust has 2,801 autistic children referrals still awaiting their first appointment after 60 weeks on average. Among the 2,443 children with ADHD referrals – who have waited an average of 87 weeks for a first appointment – the longest wait stands at 193 weeks or nearly four years.
Across 20 NHS trusts that provided figures, children with outstanding autism referrals have waited nearly six months on average for their first appointment.
Cathy Pyle’s daughter, Eva, spent 20 months waiting for an autism assessment from her local NHS child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in Surrey, having already had to wait 11 months for a mental health assessment after she became increasingly distressed during her first year of secondary school, culminating in self-harm….
Her experience is not unique – Natasha Fletcher’s daughter, Ava, spent a year on the NHS autism diagnosis pathway before they gave up after being told it would take another six months to a year. Fletcher ended up spending thousands of pounds on a private autism diagnosis – from a psychiatrist in the very CAMHS service that had kept her waiting….
A spokesman for Coventry and Warwickshire CCG said: “We acknowledge that our waiting times, particularly for autism and ADHD assessments, are longer than we want. We are investing £5.4m [$7.1M] in additional diagnostic capacity.”…
Cathy Pyle’s daughter, Eva, spent 20 months waiting for an autism assessment from her local NHS child and adolescent mental health services in Surrey.
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