Waiting times update: Children and young people's service

Last reviewed: July 2026 

Summary: Our waiting times are currently longer than expected due to high demand. To fix this, we're hiring more staff, improving how bookings are handled, and using better technology and systems. Things are already starting to improve, including phone response times. If your child's situation has changed, please contact us.

On this page: 

• Demand has been higher than expected

• Why has this happened?

• What are doing about it?

• Telephone support

• If circumstances have changed

• Thank you

We would like to provide an update on waiting times for our Children and Young People (CYP) service. 

Demand has been higher than expected

When we launched the service, we anticipated very high demand. However, referral volumes have been significantly higher than forecast, reaching around double the levels originally expected. As a result, some families have waited longer than either they or we had hoped.

Why has this happened?

Whilst our waiting times are currently longer than we would like, they remain substantially shorter than many CYP neurodevelopmental services nationally.

This has led to a large number of families joining our pathway after already spending significant periods waiting elsewhere. In some cases, some of the young people joining us have more urgent or complex needs, meaning appointments may need to be prioritised based on clinical need and risk.

We recognise that waiting can be frustrating and we're sorry that some families have waited longer than expected. 

What are we doing about it?

We're investing heavily in expanding the service and reducing waiting times, including:

• Recruiting additional clinicians every week

• Expanding our bookings and administration teams to ensure all available clinical appointments are utilised

• Recruiting additional patient support and telephone staff

• Introducing new technology and process improvements to make the service more efficient

• Strengthening waiting list management and operational oversight

We're confident these changes will enable us to support the level of demand we have seen. We're already beginning to see the benefits of these changes and remain highly confident that they'll significantly improve waiting times and patient experience.

Telephone support

We know that some families have experienced difficulties getting through to us by telephone. Additional support staff are currently being recruited and trained, and we expect telephone responsiveness to improve significantly over the coming weeks.

If circumstances have changed

If your child's symptoms have worsened, needs have increased, or there's important new information that we should be aware of, please contact us.

We can review this information and consider whether a reassessment of clinical priority is appropriate.

Please note: We are not an emergency or crisis service and are unable to provide urgent support. If you have immediate concerns about your child's safety or wellbeing, please contact your GP, NHS 111, your local crisis service, or call 999 in an emergency.

Thank you

Thank you for your patience and understanding while we continue to grow and improve the service. Our entire team remains focused on helping children, young people and families access support as quickly as possible.