Data shows patients with suspected autism referral in Luton wait 15 months for assessment
NHS England figures have shown that patients with a suspected autism referral in Luton waited an average of 15 months for an assessment.
This was a rise on eight months a year earlier, but below the national average of 17 months.
The figures, which cover the NHS Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board area, showed under-18s waited for an average of 11 months to receive an assessment in the year to June.
This was significantly below the national average of 18 months.
Across the care board area, 2,470 patients were waiting for an assessment in June, with 82 per cent of these patients through a referral that had been open for three months or longer.
The release of the data comes a month after a Parliamentary Health and Social Care Committee expressed concerns at the waiting times faced by children to get autism and ADHD assessments.
Nationally, 236,225 people were waiting an assessment in the year to June - up 15 per cent from 205,958 a year earlier, and more than double the number compared to June 2023.
Of those, 89 per cent had been waiting for at least three months, higher than 87 per cent the previous year and 82 per cent two years earlier.
Assistant director of policy, research and strategy at the National Autistic Society Tim Nicholls described the national average wait of 17 months as staggering.
"The problem isn’t that more people are seeking an assessment, but rather the efficiency and capacity at a local level," Nicholls said.
"The case for more direction and funding from central Government is crystal clear.
"The Government must provide urgent funding for diagnosis services to end this worsening crisis, and make sure autistic people and families get the support they need when they need it."
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Autistic people have been let down by the broken NHS we inherited and we know many are waiting too long for a diagnosis.
"We are putting patients first as we work to speed up appointments and improve care.
"Our 10 Year Health Plan sets out how the NHS will offer support earlier to children with special educational needs, including autistic children, to reduce pressure and get them the right support quicker."
An NHS England spokesperson added: "All patients, including neurodivergent people, deserve the best possible experience of NHS care, and we recognise these long waits are unacceptable and cause distress."
A spokesperson for Bedfordshire, Luton and Milton Keynes Integrated Care Board said: “In recent years there has been a substantial rise nationally in waiting times for autism assessments, due to the sheer numbers of people seeking assessment and/or diagnosis.
“Our providers are reviewing their referral and diagnostic pathways, to ensure there are clear processes in place to allow access to relevant knowledge, skills and support.
“Following a diagnosis, a person will receive a further appointment and a personalised report with advice and recommendations.
“For those who are awaiting their assessment for autism, we now have a peer support service in place, and early indications are that this has had a positive effect for those in this position.”