County councillor Dee Hart is to ask health chiefs for a urgent update on paediatric waiting times – after it emerged that children in east and north Hertfordshire are waiting in excess of two years for an autism diagnosis.

As part of the two-stage referral process at the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust, children suspected of having autism or ADHD must first wait to see a community paediatrician.

If autism (ASD) or ADHD are still suspected, they face a further wait for a specialist appointment.

According to the trust, new referrals are currently waiting for around 67 weeks to see a community paediatrician.

They are then facing a further wait of around 45 weeks for a further ASD or ADHD appointment.

That’s a combined waiting time of 112 weeks – equivalent to two years and two months.

Cllr Hart – chair of the county’s health scrutiny committee – says that the wait will have a wide-ranging impact on the children and their families, with regard to health, wellbeing and education.

On behalf of the committee, she is to ask the trust for an update on the situation.

“I did realise that waiting lists need attention urgently – but I was unaware that it was two years,” she told the Local Democracy Reporting Service.

“It impacts not just on the patients on the waiting list but on the whole family unit. Clearly they need help, advice and support. And if they haven’t been given a proper diagnosis, it is not helpful.

“At the end of the day, this is affecting young people and their families, as we know waiting lists are extremely high – not just in Hertfordshire but in the whole country.”

In response to the data, vice chair of the county’s health scrutiny committee Liberal Democrat Cllr Chris White said the waiting list was “clearly too high”.

He said it was something that that should be looked at by the scrutiny committee – pointing to the lost educational opportunities for those where diagnosis was delayed.

“If you have a social or a learning condition – and it is not dealt with – that narrow window when you are at school is lost forever,” he said.

“Whilst I wouldn’t expect it to be done next week, leaving it two years could – for example – be the transfer between primary and secondary school without having the assistance you need.”

Cllr White suggested the waiting times reflected a need for additional resources – pointing to the need for the recruitment and retention of more professionals.

Meanwhile Labour’s Cllr Nigel Bell said he was “shocked” by the figures.

“I am taken aback by these figures – we have to do something about it,” he said. “And we need to move as quickly as we can.”

As previously reported by the LDRS, the East and North Herts NHS Trust has acknowledged the delays – and stressed that their focus is on reducing waiting times.

Meanwhile ‘transformation’ work has been reported to be ongoing to change these pathways, including a standardised system across Hertfordshire – with a single point of administrative triage.

The target date for the implementation of the new model – which is being led by the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board (HWEICB) – has been said to be April 2025.

Commenting on the current waiting times, a spokesperson for the East and North Hertfordshire NHS Trust said their focus was on supporting children and young people to get the care they need as quickly as possible.

“There are significant delays in waiting lists nationally for community paediatric services as demand continues to grow, particularly for neurodiversity referrals,” said a spokesperson for the Trust.

“Our focus continues to be on reducing these waiting times and supporting children and young people to receive the care they need as quickly as possible.

“We would welcome a national focus on waiting times for paediatric community services, and will continue to work with the Hertfordshire and West Essex Integrated Care Board to improve these waits across the system.”