NHS might be broke but it's our kids who are paying the price

A DESPERATE mum who has waited three years for an autism assessment for her 11-year-old has now been told the health board is too skint to fund it.

- BY HANNAH RODGER

Charmaine Lacock's daughter Sarah has been on a waiting list with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) since 2022.

Last year the health board even suggested the family pay privately due to their staggering backlog with more than 800 children waiting to be assessed for neurodevelopmental conditions, including autism spectrum disorder and ADHD.

However the health board then told Charmaine they would struggle to provide treatment or support based only on a private diagnosis.

Now the 47-year-old mum of four has been told funding for specialists who carry out the assessments has been cut by the Scottish Government, reducing even further the number of children seen.

Charmaine, from Clydebank said: "We are just desperate now. This isn't just our family, there are hundreds of other people out there struggling and just having to cope without any support.

"It's heartbreaking to see your kid going further backwards when you know they need help. We've been told if we get a private assesment, the NHS wouldn't usually accept those diagnoses so there is little we can actually do other than wait. This is the NHS and Scottish Government, failing our children."

Autism and ADHD are neurodevelopmental conditions.