Children and young people at risk of becoming a ‘forgotten generation’ due to ‘crippling waits’ for NHS care, report claims

Children and young people risk becoming a forgotten generation due to crippling waits for NHS care, health leaders have warned.

A report from NHS Providers found that 82 per cent of trusts it surveyed were unable to meet the demand for under-18s’ support.

Mental health services, for example, were in contact with 5.3million children and young people in 2023/24 – up 8.1 per cent on 2022/23 and 25.7 per cent on 2021/22.

Most long-term health conditions develop during childhood – for example, 75 per cent of mental health problems occur before the age of 24. ‘Intervening during this period is therefore critical to improving young people’s health outcomes,’ the study said.

Alongside mental health support, trusts provide services such as health visiting, speech and language therapy, neurodevelopmental services and autism assessment.

82 per cent of trusts it surveyed were unable to meet the demand for under-18s’ support, a report for NHS providers found (file photo of Royal Free Hospital, London)

Leaders at almost all of the 95 trusts surveyed said the demand for children and young people’s services had increased compared with before the Covid pandemic.

Initial autism assessment waiting times were found to have risen at 86 per cent of trusts, with one saying that the waiting time had increased to 38 months, up from around 14 months pre-pandemic.

The main challenges were found to be increased complexity of patients and severity of their condition, as well as insufficient services being commissioned.

Staff shortages were also highlighted as a barrier to providing timely services. And trusts reported that not being able to provide adequate care affected staff morale and contributed to health inequalities.

Sir Julian Hartley, chief executive of NHS Providers, said: ‘We’re in danger of seeing a forgotten generation of young people.

‘Too many young lives are being blighted by delays to accessing NHS care. Long waits have far-reaching implications for a child’s social development, school readiness and educational attainment.’

NHS Providers chief executive Sir Julian Hartley (pictured) said that long waits had ‘far-reaching implications’ for a child’s social development and educational attainment

Staff shortages were also highlighted as a barrier to providing timely services, with 95 per cent of trusts reporting an increase in demand for children’s services since the pandemic (file photo)

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesman said: ‘It’s unacceptable young people are not receiving the care they deserve and we know waits are too long.

‘We will provide mental health support in every school and walk-in hubs in every community.’