Children face two-year wait for autism assessment

Children and young people in Lancashire and South Cumbria are facing "unacceptably long waits" of more than two years for autism and ADHD assessments, a report has revealed.

The Reporting from Committees: Escalation and Assurance Report said demand in Lancashire and South Cumbria had "risen exponentially" since 2022.

It warned that patients "may deteriorate and come to harm whilst waiting".

Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) said it acknowledged the waiting times were not compliant with NICE recommendations and a review was being carried out.

'Mitigate risks'

The report, which was prepared for the health board, said: “There are unacceptably long waits in both children and adults for autism and ADHD assessments (over 2 years in CYP).

“The ICB has a statutory responsibility to organise an assessment (and post diagnostic care).

"This is a quality and financial risk as patients may deteriorate and come to harm whilst waiting.”

The document added that the ICB was "not currently meeting the SEND Code of Practice" and there was a "high risk that written statements of action will be issued by CQC and Ofsted during a SEND inspection".

The report said additional waiting list funding was required in 2024-25 to mitigate the waiting times risks and an end-to-end pathway redesign was under way for children and young people as well as adults.

Professor Sarah O’Brien, chief nursing officer for Lancashire and South Cumbria Integrated Care Board, told the BBC the ICB "acknowledges that the waiting times for both adult and children autism assessments are not compliant with NICE recommendations."

“We are currently completing work to review our all age ASD pathway and are in the initial stages of completing consultations with system partners and stakeholders," she said.

"Our aim is to complete the review and proposals for a future pathway for 2025/2026 by the end of this calendar year."