Two reasons for long NHS waiting lists — and weight loss jab demand is partly to blame

Brits are being forced to wait longer for care as the demand for weight-loss jabs and autism and ADHD assessments drives up NHS waiting lists, according to a new report.

The size of the NHS community care waiting list for children in England is up 58 per cent since 2022, compared with a 23 per cent increase for adults, a Nuffield Trust and the Health Foundation study found.

More than half (55 per cent) of children and young people on the list are waiting for community paediatric services for children with developmental problems or disabilities.

The services include neurodevelopmental assessments, which include diagnosing and managing conditions such as autism and ADHD.

The report said: “This may partly explain the overall growth in the waiting list for children and young people’s services, as we have previously reported a surge in demand for referrals and assessments for these conditions.”

The study further found that 21 per cent of children and young people on the waiting list are waiting for speech and language therapy services, such as for patients with communication, eating, drinking and swallowing problems.

Some 6 per cent of children on the waiting list are waiting for physiotherapy, 6 per cent for audiology services and 6 per cent for occupational therapy.

Overall, waits for children and young people are much longer than for adults, with almost one in four waiting more than a year and one in 15 waiting over two years.

The report also looked at adults and found 44 per cent of those on the community waiting list are waiting for musculoskeletal services such as for bone, joint or muscle pain.

However, the largest percentage increase of any community service occurred in weight management services for adults (512 per cent).

The report said: “Although the absolute increase was not as high as for community paediatric or musculoskeletal services, the rapid change is worth noting, as it may relate to the recent surge in demand for GLP-1 medicines (weight-loss drugs) like Mounjaro and Ozempic for weight loss.”

The report also noted that the number of NHS staff has increased much more in hospitals than in the community.

Between 2010 and 2025, the number of nurses working in community settings increased by 1 per cent, while the number of adult hospital nurses increased by 42 per cent and children’s hospital nurses increased by 93 per cent.

Nuffield Trust fellow and author of the briefing, Jessica Morris, said: “Children across the country are waiting far too long for the community care they desperately need.

“For the families affected it can feel like life is on hold while they’re stuck waiting for support.

“To take just one example, many children on the list are in urgent need of life-changing speech and language therapy because of difficulties with communicating or swallowing.

“The increasing number of people living with long-term conditions together with our aging population mean that more and more people are likely to need support from community health services in the coming years.

“The government’s health plans recognise the importance of community services and include laudable aims to expand them, but our analysis shows how difficult realising that goal will be when existing community services are already on their knees.”