The increased waiting times have led to concerns over the impacts on the well-being and development of young people.
Across all community health services, paediatric services have the longest wait times, with 14,000 children waiting more than a year to be seen and 34,000 waiting more than 18 weeks, leading to developmental needs such as autism being diagnosed late. More children than adults are also waiting for more than a year for at-home care.
Children’s services are struggling more with capacity compared with those supporting adults. Some 40 per cent of children have been waiting for more 18 weeks for support compared with just 15 per cent of adults, the figures show.
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