80,000 children in England wait more than a year for a doctor’s appointment — The Guardian

In England, 80,000 children and young people have been waiting for more than a year for an appointment with community health services. This is almost 11 times more than the number of adults with the same waiting time, according to the annual report of the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

As The Guardian reports, the CQC recorded one of the sharpest increases in waiting times for children’s healthcare in the history of England’s National Health Service. At the same time, waiting times for some adult patients have decreased.

Demand outpaces service capacity

According to the CQC, children and young people are suffering most from delays amid rapidly growing demand and declining staff numbers. Experts interviewed by the publication said that children’s conditions deteriorate because of prolonged waits, while treatment becomes more difficult.

The regulator also reported that the number of health visitors and school nurses continues to decline despite growing demand for their work. In many areas, including mental health services, patients’ needs are becoming more complex.

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Regional inequality in access to care

The CQC report states that access to services, quality of care and treatment outcomes differ unjustifiably between regions and depend on where patients live and who they are. The regulator highlighted varying rates of hospital admissions of children due to diabetes and asthma, as well as particularly high rates of decayed teeth among children in some areas.

Ronnie Cheung, a representative of the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health, said that community health services support children outside hospitals who have complex illnesses, developmental disorders and safeguarding needs. According to him, more than a quarter of children wait for treatment for over a year, and delays affect children’s education, their condition and their families.

CQC Chair Julia Neuberger said that some health and social care services work well, but improvements are not keeping pace with growing demand. The Department of Health and Social Care said that the government had committed to strengthening support for mothers and children and creating a new national care service.