‘No family should have to watch their child spiral into despair’

FAMILIES are reaching “crisis point” because of NHS delays, a Senedd Member has warned.

- DALE SPRIDGEON

Dwyfor Meirionnydd MS Mabon ap Gwynfor says parents are “left in tears” and their children at risk of suicide and self-harming as they wait for neurodiversity diagnoses.

Plaid Cymru MS Mr ap Gwynfor's warning to the Welsh Government is over “unacceptable and damaging” holdups in diagnosing youngsters with conditions such as autism and ADHD.

He says some children are waiting up to four years for an assessment, which is having “a profound impact” on children.

He raised the matter with the First Minister Eluned Morgan.

The MS cites figures from September 2024, showing 20,770 children were waiting for a neurodevelopmental assessment in Wales and said projections suggest the number could rise to between 41,000 and 61,000 by March, 2027.

In the Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board area, waiting times for autism diagnosis in rural areas have reportedly reached up to 46 months.

A Freedom of Information request seen by Mr ap Gwynfor showed 7,154 children are on the neurodiversity waiting list across the BCUHB area, with only five clinicians carrying out assessments in the northwest.

Some 78 assessments were carried out in the northwest between April 2025 and March 202525, compared to 241 in the east for the same period.

In questions to Mrs Morgan, Mr ap Gwynfor said: “I have parents coming to my surgeries in tears because their children are self-harming or have died by suicide - children as young as 11 years old.

“Data from north Wales shows a list of over 7,000 children waiting for a diagnosis, with the data showing that only 40 assessments are carried out each month in the north.