Funding for autism assessments 'not materialised'

Children and young people facing "unacceptably long waits" of more than two years for assessments

Funding to address waiting times for autism and ADHD assessments across Lancashire has "not materialised" due to financial pressures, a report has stated.

The Reporting from Committees: Escalation and Assurance Report prepared for the Lancashire and South Cumbria integrated care board (ICB) said the quality committee had been alerted to "extremely long waiting times" for assessments for both adults and children.

A report prepared for the ICB in May said demand had "risen exponentially" since 2022, with children and young people facing "unacceptably long waits" of more than two years to be seen.

The ICB said it recognised waiting times required "improvement".

It comes after the ICB revealed a funding shortfall of £148.6m at the end of March, according to a report prepared for its committee, the Local Democracy Reporting Service reported.

The most recent report to the ICB said: "Committee were also alerted to ongoing challenges and extremely long waiting times for child and young person neurodevelopment (autism assessment and ADHD assessment) and long waits for adult neurodevelopment assessments.

"There had been a commitment to some waiting list initiative funding to mitigate the risk, but this has not materialised due to the system financial pressures and the risks relating to long waits had not been mitigated."

Chief nursing officer for Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB Professor Sarah O’Brien said: “Lancashire and South Cumbria ICB recognises that the waiting times faced by both adult and children for autism assessments require improvement and is a challenge faced across the country.

“We are currently reviewing our all-age autism spectrum disorder pathway and are working with system partners and stakeholders to complete the review and proposals for a future pathway for 2025-2026 which helps to reduce the waiting times.”