Covid risks creating ‘forgotten generation’ of children as waiting times soar, NHS chiefs say

Covid risks creating a “forgotten generation” of children impacted by soaring waiting times for vital care, NHS chiefs have said.

More than four in five NHS hospital trusts have said that, since the pandemic, they are unable to meet the rising demand on children’s services, including speech therapy, autism assessments, mental health services and paediatric surgery.

A senior NHS figure said: “Young lives are being blighted by delays to accessing vital NHS care”, with waiting times soaring since the UK went into multiple lockdowns during the pandemic.

A survey of hospital leaders by NHS Providers - the membership organisation for trusts - found that rising demand and long waits meant more and more children were in need of help but struggling to access it.

Some 97 per cent of responses from 134 senior hospital leaders agreed that the demand for hospital services for children and young people had increased since the Covid pandemic.

One trust said its waiting times for children’s autism assessments had risen from around 14 months pre-pandemic to 38 months now.

Meanwhile, there were 5.3 million children and young people under 25 in contact with mental health services in 2023-24, an increase of 25.7 per cent from 2021-22.

School-readiness

Various studies have linked lockdowns to children experiencing social and emotional development delays, as well as a rise in behavioural and mental health issues.

Sir Julian Hartley, the chief executive of NHS Providers, said: “We’re in danger of seeing a forgotten generation of young people. Too many young lives are being blighted by delays to accessing vital NHS care.”

He said: “Long waits for services have far-reaching implications for a child’s social development, school-readiness and educational attainment.

“Preventing ill health among children and young people is central to ensuring the next generation are able to live well, thrive and contribute to society and the economy.”

‘Cast-iron commitment’

He called on the new Government and NHS England to make a “cast-iron commitment” to improve children’s physical and mental health.

Labour will set out the major laws it wants to pass in its first year of power during Wednesday’s King’s Speech, which is likely to include bans on energy drinks for children under 16, junk food adverts before 9pm and a smoking ban which will prevent anyone turning 15 this year ever buying cigarettes legally.

Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has repeatedly declared that the NHS is “broken” during his first week in office. He pledged to improve access to family doctors and dentists, and cut the 7.6 million hospital appointment backlog.

In its report, called Forgotten Generation, NHS Providers also revealed that 86 per cent of hospitals had experienced rising waiting times for an initial assessment.

The main challenges facing trusts include increased complexity and severity of the patient’s condition and insufficient services being commissioned, it said.

A shortage of staff was also highlighted as a barrier to providing safe and timely services.

‘A healthy and thriving society’

Nine in 10 respondents said the health and wellbeing of children is not considered enough in national policy despite most long-term health conditions developing during childhood.

For example, 75 per cent of mental health problems occur before the age of 24, it said.

“Intervening during this period is therefore critical to improving children and young people’s health outcomes both now, in the present, and into the future, ensuring a healthy and thriving society and population in the long term,” the report said.

Those responding to the survey included chairs, chief executives, strategy directors, chief operating officers and directors of children’s services, from a range of hospital, community, mental health, and ambulance trusts.