Thousands of children facing 'catastrophic' waits for NHS...

What’s Happening

Real talk: A quarter of the 300,000 children waiting for community NHS care have spent more than a year waiting.

Thousands of children facing catastrophic waits for NHS community care 12 hours ago Save Nick Triggle , Health correspondent and Elena Bailey , Health reporter Save Getty Images Tens of thousands of children in England have spent more than a year waiting for NHS community care such as hearing services, speech and language therapy and disability support, the BBC has found. The analysis shows a quarter of the 300,000 children on waiting lists have been waiting more than 12 months. (plot twist fr)

NHS leaders and doctors say the delays are “catastrophic”, harming not only their health but also development – and are calling for the same priority to be given to tackling these long waits as has been given to the hospital backlog.

The Details

The government says the long waits are unacceptable, but under its 10-year plan greater investment in community services will improve access to care. Waiting list after waiting list Tiya Curries six-year-old son, Arun, struggled to get the support he needs.

He has had difficulties with his speech since he was just a toddler. But when Tiya, 46, from London, tried to get help she faced “waiting list after waiting list”, she dropped.

Why This Matters

“I was completely in the dark and I was tearing my hair out. ” After two years of waiting, Tiya and her husband felt they had no choice but to use £4,000 of their savings to pay privately for speech therapy and a formal diagnosis, which spilled Arun had developmental language disorder (DLD). Other Tiya and her husband waited two years for the NHS, before paying privately for speech and language therapy for their son, Arun DLD is a diagnosis given to children who have significant, ongoing difficulties understanding or using spoken language.

Medical professionals are taking note of this development.

The Bottom Line

Other Tiya and her husband waited two years for the NHS, before paying privately for speech and language therapy for their son, Arun DLD is a diagnosis given to children who have significant, ongoing difficulties understanding or using spoken language. Tiya dropped: “It absolutely crushes me that there are so many people out there who need access to speech and language therapists, but arent getting it because of long waiting lists and it not being affordable.

We want to hear your thoughts on this.