Doctors Warn of Crisis as Over 314,000 Children Wait for Community Health Services

Children are waiting far longer than adults for essential community healthcare, with over 21 percent waiting more than a year for treatment.

A baby playing with toys at home in Northamptonshire on Aug. 4, 2023. Joe Giddens/PA

Leading doctors have raised the alarm over a growing crisis in children’s community health services, with more than 314,000 children currently waiting for essential care.

Wait times for children with autism, ADHD, and complex health needs are worsening, with thousands left without vital treatment in community child health settings.

A new report from the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH) has described the current delays as “unsustainable” and warned they could lead to “irreparable harm” if care is not initiated during critical developmental periods.

“There is potential for lifelong impacts on speech, mobility, physical and social development, and missed learning,” the RCPCH said in the report, published on Thursday.

The findings emerge as the government advances its 10 Year Health Plan, which aims to shift more health care from hospitals into community settings. However, experts caution that children are being overlooked in this transition.

“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,” said Dr. Ronny Cheung, RCPCH officer for health services, urging immediate government action.

Children ‘Being Left Behind’

Community health services for children encompass a wide range of care.

They includes diagnosis of conditions such as autism and ADHD, assessment of developmental delays, safeguarding evaluations, and support for children with complex needs, and are typically delivered in clinics, schools, or local health centres.

Between February and March, waiting lists for children’s community health services increased by 5 percent, meaning an additional 16,000 children are now waiting for care.

The report highlighted a stark disparity between waiting times for children and adults: while adult community service waiting lists decreased by 2 percent from April 2024 to March 2025, the number of children and young people waiting rose by 11 percent.

Currently, 21.5 percent of children and young people have been waiting more than 52 weeks for care, compared to just 1.3 percent of adults.

Only 49.6 percent of children are seen within the NHS’s 18-week target, while 86 percent of adults are treated within that timeframe.

Nearly 160,000 children are now waiting more than 18 weeks for access to services.

“It is unacceptable that these services are lagging so far behind both the rest of the health system and adult community services. There is a need for urgent investment and a clear message to ICSs to prioritise community child health services,” said Cheung.

The report establishing a specific waiting time target for community child health services, aligned with the existing referral-to-treatment standard, which aims for 92 percent of patients to begin treatment within 18 weeks by 2029.

“No child should be waiting longer than 18 weeks for care,” it said.

Government Plans

Under planned NHS reforms, the government wants to deliver more services in local communities and focus on illness prevention.

Plans include new neighbourhood health centres, with patients able to visit family doctors and other health specialists all under the same roof.

These efforts aim to alleviate hospital pressures and stimulate economic growth.

However, doctors warn that current long wait times continue to burden the wider health system.

Families often seek repeated help from GPs and emergency departments while “waiting in limbo” for services.

The report also noted the broader economic toll, including the impact of school absences on long-term educational outcomes and lost productivity from carers needing time off work.

A lack of a sustainable child health workforce is another major challenge.

The report found that many GPs only have a few weeks of relevant undergraduate training but are expected to be the first line of assessment and treatment for children and young people.

The report calls for significant investment to address workforce shortages, including community paediatricians, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists.

The government has pledged to explore necessary changes at national, regional, local, and neighbourhood levels to realise its health vision.

A working group will be tasked with identifying international best practices and successful local models to guide implementation.