Children are facing ‘catastrophic’ waits for community health care after the backlog surged to almost 315,000
Children are facing ‘catastrophic’ waits for community health care after the backlog surged to almost 315,000, doctors warn.
Long waits can cause ‘irreparable harm’ and have ‘lifelong impacts’, according to the new report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health.
It said the waiting list for children in need for care in the community is growing, with hold-ups facing kids to delay the age at which they start school, hampering their ability to socialise or play sport or harming their mental health.
The authors called into question Government plans to shift care from hospitals into the community, saying that without ‘urgent action’ community waiting lists for children will ‘continue to grow’.
Community paediatricians care for children with a number of conditions including those with developmental disorders and disabilities; those with complex health needs, including end of life care; children who have neurodevelopmental disorders including autism and ADHD.
They also see children where there are safeguarding concerns, who are ‘looked after’ or being adopted.
The latest figures show that in March 2025 there were 314,432 children and young people waiting for community health services.
This is compared to 272,625 in March 2024.
Children are facing ‘catastrophic’ waits for community health care after the backlog surged to almost 315,000, doctors warn
The RCPCH said that children and young people are waiting significantly longer than adults to access community health services, with 22 per cent of those currently waiting for a year or more.
Among the children currently on waiting lists, 67,725 had been waiting more than a year, and 15,240 children – or 5 per cent of all children on community waiting lists – had been waiting for more than two years.
This compares to 1.3 per cent of adults are waiting for a year for community health services.
And while 86 per cent of adults are seen within 18 weeks, only 50 per cent of children and young people are seen within the same timeframe.
‘Average waiting times for community child health services are now some of the longest of any part of the health system,’, the RCPCH report says.
It describes the current state of children’s community services is ‘unsustainable’, and adds; ‘Children and young people (CYP) are waiting longer than adults to access healthcare in England.
‘Paediatric services are not recovering at the same rates as adult services, and there is a growing gap between demand and capacity.’
Addressing ministerial plans to bring care closer to home, the authors said: ‘We urgently need transformational change in children’s community services.
Dr Ronny Cheung, officer for health services at the RCPCH
‘The Government should urgently address the current long waiting times in community child health services as a core part of recovery plans, before progress can be made on a wider shift of care into the community.’
Dr Ronny Cheung, officer for health services at the RCPCH, said: ‘Lengthy waits are unacceptable for any patient but for children and young people the waits can be catastrophic, as many treatments need to be given by a specific age or developmental stage.
‘Waits such as these can result in delayed starts to school, limitations on socialising, play sports, increased risk of poor mental health, behavioural problems and distress for both the child and their families.
‘We want the NHS’s 10-year plan to succeed, but we cannot shift care into the community while children are currently being left behind.
‘Without urgent action, these waiting lists will continue to grow — and children will keep missing out on the vital care they need.’
The report makes a series of recommendations, including: a waiting time target so children are all seen within a maximum of 18 weeks; work to address the ‘investment gap’ between children and adult services and efforts to improve the children’s community health workforce.
Dr Douglas Simkiss, chair of the British Association for Community Child Health, said: ‘Community children’s services are a vital but often overlooked component of the health care system.
‘Implementing the recommendations in this report will have a tremendous positive impact for the children and families that rely on these services and the staff who work in them.’
Long waits can cause ‘irreparable harm’ and have ‘lifelong impacts’, according to the new report by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: ‘Too many children are not getting the care they need when they need it.
‘This Government is committed to shifting care out of hospital and into the community: this is vital for children and their families, but it will take time.
‘We are working to transform mental health services for children – hiring more staff and delivering more talking therapies – and putting mental health support in every school.
‘We know more must be done and we are working with integrated care boards to understand the extent of the problem in each region so we can reduce waits for community health services.’
