Nov 25, 2024, Radar: NHS autism assessment waiting list grows by almost 1,000 in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent – as "diagnosis wait crisis" worsens across England
W. Midlands
Almost 1,000 additional patients with suspected autism in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent are waiting for a diagnosis this year, new figures show.
It comes as waiting lists have expanded across England, with an autism charity warning the "diagnosis wait crisis" is taking a toll on patients' mental health, and called on the Government to "urgently fix this broken system".
NHS England figures show there were 204,876 patients with an open referral for suspected autism across the country in September, a 27% rise from 161,827 the year before.
In the NHS Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent Integrated Care Board area, 6,210 patients were waiting for an autism assessment, up from 5,265 last year.
Of these, 82% (5,120) had a referral that had been open at least 13 weeks. . . .
Tim Nicholls, assistant director of policy, research and strategy at the National Autistic Society, said the figures should be "a huge wake-up call to the Government to urgently fix this broken system which lets down autistic people and their families". . . .
Just 3% of the patients with an open referral for more than 13 weeks entering September in Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent received a first appointment that month.
The median waiting time for a first appointment across England is 43 weeks. . . .
"But we know there is more to do, which is why we have published new national guidance to help local partners to deliver high-quality autism assessment services and to manage the 161% increase in referrals over the last four years, while providing enhanced autism training for psychiatrists."
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