Mother of autistic boy, 2, criticises Northampton General Hospital for 'failing' her son and 700 other children on the waiting list

Emma Wilkinson, from Towcester, has been trying to get an appointment with a paediatrician at the hospital since February this year, so her son can be officially diagnosed and subsequently receive vital specialist speech and language therapy.

According to NGH, the hospital has 23 paediatricians working across a number of departments out of an overall complement of 25.

However, there are about 700 patients on the NGH autism spectrum disorder waiting list who are being seen in referral date order for their assessments.

Emma said: "NGH is failing our children. There is no support. All of our children are now having their appointments backlogged.

"This has had a massive impact on my son. He's still not speaking. He has had no support with his speech or language. He's developed something now where he will eat non-edible things, like chew through walls and wood.

"NGH has a duty of care to my children. The NHS is failing our children. The NGH trust is failing our children. If they haven't got a pediatrician there why can't they send us to Kettering or Milton Keynes or Daventry?"

An NGH spokesman said: “We would like to apologise to Mrs Wilkinson and to all families whose children are waiting for autism assessments.

“Waits for these assessments reflect a historical backlog of Autistic Spectrum Disorder assessments, the effects of Covid-19 on waits, and in addition we have also had two recent consultant paediatrician retirements, ​and are working hard to recruit to these posts against a backdrop of high national demand for these positions.

“Our existing community paediatricians are working the maximum number of hours they can to help as many children and young people as possible and we are deeply grateful for their continued efforts and hard work.

“We are ​actively recruiting to ​consultant positions and looking at developing new ways of working to try to reduce ​long waits for families as a matter of urgency.”

Here is a list of things parents are advised to do “while they wait” for an autism assessment, according to the NHS’ website:

- ask a GP if the assessment team can suggest any support groups

- find a support group using the National Autistic Society services directory

- talk to teachers or special educational needs (SENCO) staff at your child's school

- speak to student support services at college or university

- ask your local council for a needs assessment to see what support they can recommend

EDITOR’S NOTE: An earlier version of this articles stated that there were zero paediatricians at Northampton General Hospital. This was incorrect and the article has been amended. We apologise for the error and for any upset caused.