01-07-2025
Wales: Four-year waits for children's assessments eliminated
The £3m investment led to 2,166 additional assessments between January and March 2025.
This is part of a broader effort to reduce waiting times for children seeking neurodevelopmental assessments.
The update came in a statement by Sarah Murphy, minister for mental health and wellbeing, who outlined revised priorities for 2025-26.
Progress over the past year included the completion of the evaluation of the Autism Code of Practice and an initial consultation on the Neurodivergence Code of Practice.
Ms Murphy acknowledged the challenges families face, stressing the importance of continuing to reduce waiting times.
For 2025-26, £5.6m of the £13.7m designated for the Neurodivergence Improvement Programme will focus on further reducing these waiting times.
A target has been set to eliminate all three-year waits by March 2026.
Ms Murphy stated that some health boards have already significantly reduced waiting times, and the government will continue to invest in these areas to support their progress.
