Recorded referrals
1,480
Open suspected-autism referrals
People whose suspected-autism referral was recorded as open at some point in March 2026.
A count shows scale, not comparative performance.
NHS commissioning and referral evidence
NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board
Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
FamilyFX evidence snapshotMarch 2026 · checked 14 August 2026
Autism referral data for NHS Dorset
NHS Dorset plans NHS services across Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole. The March 2026 figures describe recorded suspected-autism referrals across the system, not an individual provider's complete waiting list. NHS England records shared leadership with NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire and NHS Somerset, but the boards remain separate legal entities.
Share of referrals
85.1%
Open for at least 13 weeks
The share of recorded open suspected-autism referrals that had been open for 13 weeks or longer.
England: 89.7%. 4.6 percentage points lower than the England figure.
Share of referrals
50.0%
First contact within 13 weeks
Among referrals open for at least 13 weeks, the share with a first attended care contact recorded within 13 weeks of referral.
England: 3.7%. 46.3 percentage points higher than the England figure.
Share of referrals
27.4%
No first care contact recorded
Among referrals open for at least 13 weeks, the share without a first care contact recorded in the dataset.
England: 82.7%. 55.3 percentage points lower than the England figure.
What these figures mean
A system signal, not a waiting-time promise
The NHS England measures follow suspected-autism referrals from the referral date to the first attended care contact recorded in the Mental Health Services Dataset. FamilyFX preserves the published counts, shows the numerator and denominator behind each derived percentage, and compares only measures with the same definition and reporting month.
NHS Dorset continued on the same statutory footprint on 1 April 2026. The calculation uses ICB row QVV. Published counts are rounded, so derived percentages are approximate.
Important limitation
This dataset is incomplete by design
These are official statistics in development, not a complete autism waiting list. Most child autism assessments take place in community paediatric services whose activity cannot yet be identified in the Community Services Dataset. March 2026 data from Psychiatry UK was incomplete, and a missing care-contact date can mean a contact was not submitted, the person was still waiting, or the referral closed without a first appointment. The figures should not be used to rate an ICB or predict an individual wait.
Show the calculation behind each figure
| Measure | Numerator | Denominator | NHS codes | Calculation note |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open suspected-autism referrals | 1,480 | Not applicable | ASD16 | The values are taken from the March 2026 ICB row: QVV. Source counts are rounded. |
| Open for at least 13 weeks | 1,260 | 1,480 | ASD16 + ASD16a | The values are taken from the March 2026 ICB row: QVV. Source counts are rounded. FamilyFX divided ASD16a by ASD16 and rounded the result to one decimal place. |
| First contact within 13 weeks | 630 | 1,260 | ASD16a + ASD18 | The values are taken from the March 2026 ICB row: QVV. Source counts are rounded. FamilyFX divided ASD18 by ASD16a and rounded the result to one decimal place. |
| No first care contact recorded | 345 | 1,260 | ASD16a + ASD18b | The values are taken from the March 2026 ICB row: QVV. Source counts are rounded. FamilyFX divided ASD18b by ASD16a and rounded the result to one decimal place. A missing contact is not the same as a confirmed wait. |
What has changed, and what it means for families
boundaryAll ages
The current statutory ICB footprint
NHS England lists NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board among the 36 ICBs operating from 1 April 2026. Its footprint covers Dorset and Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole.
Why this matters: The ICB is responsible for planning and commissioning across this wider system. The provider named on a referral remains the practical contact for an individual appointment or waiting-list query.
Read the source from NHS EnglandNHS commissioning and statutory boundaries · published 1 April 2026 · checked 14 August 2026
pathwayAll ages
Shared leadership does not create one local pathway
NHS England records NHS Dorset in a leadership cluster with NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire and NHS Somerset. The ICB remains a separate legal body with its own footprint and published information.
Why this matters: Use the ICB site for current commissioning, policy and pathway information. For a personal referral update, use the hospital, community service or assessment provider named in the referral correspondence.
Read the source from NHS Dorset Integrated Care BoardCurrent NHS system and pathway information · checked 14 August 2026
ADHD management informationMarch 2026 · checked 14 August 2026
ADHD referral data for NHS Dorset
NHS England now publishes ICB-level management information about referrals that may relate to ADHD assessment. These figures add useful scale and waiting-band context, but they are not a confirmed ADHD waiting list.
Read this first
These are referrals that may be for an ADHD assessment. They are not confirmed diagnoses and should not be read as an exact local ADHD waiting list.
Open referrals
At least 5,715
Possible ADHD referrals still open
Open mental-health referrals recorded under neurodevelopmental conditions excluding autism, including referrals that have already had a first contact.
Open referrals
At least 4,890
Open for more than 13 weeks
Possible ADHD referrals recorded in the three published bands above 13 weeks. This describes referral age, not a promised assessment date.
Open referrals
At least 2,985
Open for more than 52 weeks
Possible ADHD referrals recorded in the 52-to-104-week and 104-weeks-or-more bands.
Open referrals
At least 3,350
No first contact recorded
Open possible-ADHD referrals without a first care contact in the submitted Mental Health Services Dataset record.
Monthly referrals
At least 325
New possible referrals in March
Possible ADHD referrals newly recorded during March 2026. It is a monthly flow measure rather than a waiting-list total.
Possible open referrals by recorded age
Each bar uses ADHD003 for the same reporting month. Bar lengths compare age groups within this displayed footprint only.
0 to 4At least 0
People aged 0 to 4
5 to 17355
People aged 5 to 17
18 to 241,410
People aged 18 to 24
25+3,950
People aged 25+
Unknown0
Age not recorded in the source row
How the figures were built
A traceable system signal
Measures ADHD003 to ADHD007 come from the Mental Health Services Dataset. NHS England identifies referrals whose primary reason is recorded as neurodevelopmental conditions excluding autism, then publishes their status and time bands by age. FamilyFX keeps the official definitions, source codes and reporting month visible and does not combine the figures into a score or rank.
FamilyFX added the published March 2026 age-band values for predecessor ICB code QVV. Values are rounded to the nearest five, and asterisks marking small suppressed cells are retained as lower bounds.
Important limitation
The publication is still developing
The referral category can include conditions other than ADHD, while some ADHD pathways, Right to Choose providers and independent providers do not submit complete data. An open referral may also remain open after assessment because medication reviews or continuing care are still managed by the provider. The figures therefore cannot give an exact ADHD waiting list, a diagnosis count or an individual waiting-time estimate.
Show the NHS measures behind these figures
| Measure | Displayed value | NHS codes | Calculation note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Possible ADHD referrals still open | At least 5,715 | ADHD003 | This is a lower-bound subtotal. Small source cells may be suppressed, or a 2026 boundary change may prevent part of the current footprint being separated from a predecessor ICB row. |
| Open for more than 13 weeks | At least 4,890 | ADHD003b + ADHD003c + ADHD003d | This is a lower-bound subtotal. Small source cells may be suppressed, or a 2026 boundary change may prevent part of the current footprint being separated from a predecessor ICB row. |
| Open for more than 52 weeks | At least 2,985 | ADHD003c + ADHD003d | This is a lower-bound subtotal. Small source cells may be suppressed, or a 2026 boundary change may prevent part of the current footprint being separated from a predecessor ICB row. |
| No first contact recorded | At least 3,350 | ADHD004 | This is a lower-bound subtotal. Small source cells may be suppressed, or a 2026 boundary change may prevent part of the current footprint being separated from a predecessor ICB row. |
| New possible referrals in March | At least 325 | ADHD007 | This is a lower-bound subtotal. Small source cells may be suppressed, or a 2026 boundary change may prevent part of the current footprint being separated from a predecessor ICB row. |
Continue with local support
ICB information describes the wider NHS system. Council SEND routes, Local Offers and impartial advice are organised through the relevant local area.