Numbers waiting for an assessment in the NHS area covering Barnet have dropped since last year despite a worsening national situation reports Clara Margotin, Data Reporter

A child playing with a piece of yellow play dough — There were 204,876 patients with an open referral for suspected autism across the country in September, a 27% rise from 161,827 the year before – (Credit – Radar)

More than 1,000 patients with suspected autism in north central London are waiting for a diagnosis this year, new figures show.

It comes as waiting lists have expanded across England, with an autism charity warning the “diagnosis wait crisis” is taking a toll on patients’ mental health, and called on the government to “urgently fix this broken system”.

NHS England figures show there were 204,876 patients with an open referral for suspected autism across the country in September, a 27% rise from 161,827 the year before.

Meanwhile, in the NHS North Central London Integrated Care Board area, 1,070 patients were waiting for an autism assessment, down from 2,325 last year.

Of these, 95% (1,020) had a referral that had been open at least 13 weeks.

The NHS target is for every patient with a referral to receive a first appointment within 13 weeks.

Tim Nicholls, assistant director of policy, research and strategy at the National Autistic Society, said the figures should be “a huge wake-up call to the government to urgently fix this broken system which lets down autistic people and their families”.

“An autism assessment can be the first step to really understanding people’s needs and too often people can’t get support without a diagnosis, even though this shouldn’t be the case,” he added.

“Waiting for months or years for an assessment leaves people struggling without the right support, increasingly stressed and anxious. It pushes some people to a mental health crisis.”

He added without public investment the crisis would persist, “leaving autistic people, families and NHS services under the strain”.

Just 6% of the patients with an open referral for more than 13 weeks entering September in north central London received a first appointment that month.

The median waiting time for a first appointment across England is 43 weeks.

An NHS England spokesperson said: “While there remains high demand for autism assessments, we are seeing an improvement in the number of assessments completed.

“But we know there is more to do, which is why we have published new national guidance to help local partners to deliver high-quality autism assessment services and to manage the 161% increase in referrals over the last four years, while providing enhanced autism training for psychiatrists.”

No news is bad news

Independent news outlets like ours – reporting for the community without rich backers – are under threat of closure, turning British towns into news deserts.

The audiences they serve know less, understand less, and can do less.

If our coverage has helped you understand our community a little bit better, please consider supporting us with a monthly, yearly or one-off donation.

Choose the news. Don’t lose the news.

Monthly direct debit

Annual direct debit

£5 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else, £10 per month supporters get a digital copy of each month’s paper before anyone else and a print copy posted to them each month. £50 annual supporters get a digital copy of each month's paper before anyone else. £84 annual supporters get a print copy by post and a digital copy of each month's before anyone else.