Overview

• Children on community care waiting lists have risen 58% since 2022, compared with a 23% increase for adults.
• Adult referrals to weight-management services have surged 512%, which the analysis says may relate to growing demand for GLP-1 weight-loss drugs such as Mounjaro and Ozempic.
• More than half of children on the list (55%) are waiting for community paediatric services that include autism and ADHD assessments.
• Waits for young people are longer than for adults, with nearly one in four children waiting over a year and one in 15 waiting more than two years.
• Workforce growth has lagged in the community, with community nursing up 1% since 2010 versus 42% for adult hospital nurses and 93% for children’s hospital nurses, prompting calls from the Royal College of Nursing for urgent investment.