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NHS Right to Choose - Central East

Goldfinch

Hi everyone,

I have been on a waiting list for an assessment for a couple of months, originally informed this would be about 6 months.

All of my initial tests and questionnaires are complete, so I'm just playing the waiting game.

I received a letter from my provider today informing me that the NHS Central East Integrated Care Team (ICB) have paused all funding for assessments immediately. 

"Due to high demand for autism and ADHD assessments and wider NHS budgets, we are unable to proceed with routine new assessments for patients referred through the Right to Choose pathway in your area. This is because funding arrangements for these assessments are currently under review by the ICB. As a result, you will remain on our waiting list until we receive further confirmation regarding future funding and service capacity".

Does anyone have any experience of what this means in practice - when is this generally reviewed? How long will the additional wait be? Do I move to the bottom of the waiting list, or rise to the top as soon as funding becomes available?

In my professional experience of budgets, this generally refreshes at the start of the next financial year in April - does this mean the 2026/27 budget has already maxed out (In August!) and therefore won't be reviewed until April 2027?

I'm extremely apprehensive about this, and am considering taking myself off the waiting list and going private given the now open-ended timescales.

Parents

  • Hi, I remember different posts earlier this year about funding being stopped until the new financial year for 2026. The Right to Choose system has now got to saturation point, as others have said, if you can afford a private diagnosis then it might be the only solution. Obviously make sure they follow NICE guidelines and their diagnosis is accepted by the NHS.

    My route was with the South East Trust, I decided to just wait on the NHS waiting list, I was diagnosed June 25, from walking into the GP,s surgery to an assessment was 3 years, it would have been two and a half if I had returned forms sooner.

    I personally needed that amount of time to explore autism, I don’t think the exploration ever stops. I had lived with autism for over 50 years, I knew I am autistic and checked with the centre for Bucks and Oxford every 6 months for an update. I wasn’t looking for an assessment to lead to any further support, not that any was given. I do now have a gold standard NHS diagnosis of autism, if I do need support then it’s irrefutable. The wait time seemed a big number but it actually soon passed.

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  • Hi, I remember different posts earlier this year about funding being stopped until the new financial year for 2026. The Right to Choose system has now got to saturation point, as others have said, if you can afford a private diagnosis then it might be the only solution. Obviously make sure they follow NICE guidelines and their diagnosis is accepted by the NHS.

    My route was with the South East Trust, I decided to just wait on the NHS waiting list, I was diagnosed June 25, from walking into the GP,s surgery to an assessment was 3 years, it would have been two and a half if I had returned forms sooner.

    I personally needed that amount of time to explore autism, I don’t think the exploration ever stops. I had lived with autism for over 50 years, I knew I am autistic and checked with the centre for Bucks and Oxford every 6 months for an update. I wasn’t looking for an assessment to lead to any further support, not that any was given. I do now have a gold standard NHS diagnosis of autism, if I do need support then it’s irrefutable. The wait time seemed a big number but it actually soon passed.

Children
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