Recorded referrals
4,435
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 Kent and Medway Integrated Care Board
Kent and Medway
FamilyFX evidence snapshotMarch 2026 · checked 14 August 2026
Autism referral data for NHS Kent and Medway
Kent and Medway combines a county council area and a separate unitary council, while NHS services work across both. From April 2026, one mental health trust took on children and young people's mental health and neurodevelopmental assessment services across the system. The ICB said existing appointments and waiting-list places would not change because of that transfer.
Share of referrals
91.2%
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%. 1.5 percentage points higher than the England figure.
Share of referrals
1.1%
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%. 2.6 percentage points lower than the England figure.
Share of referrals
91.8%
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%. 9.1 percentage points higher 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.
The values come from the published March 2026 NHS Kent and Medway ICB row. 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 | 4,435 | Not applicable | ASD16 | The values come from the published March 2026 NHS Kent and Medway ICB row. |
| Open for at least 13 weeks | 4,045 | 4,435 | ASD16 + ASD16a | The values come from the published March 2026 NHS Kent and Medway ICB row. FamilyFX divided ASD16a by ASD16 and rounded the result to one decimal place. |
| First contact within 13 weeks | 45 | 4,045 | ASD16a + ASD18 | The values come from the published March 2026 NHS Kent and Medway ICB row. FamilyFX divided ASD18 by ASD16a and rounded the result to one decimal place. |
| No first care contact recorded | 3,715 | 4,045 | ASD16a + ASD18b | The values come from the published March 2026 NHS Kent and Medway ICB row. 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
provider changeAges 0–18 in Kent and 0–19 in Medway
A new lead provider from April 2026
Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust now provides children and young people's mental health services and diagnostic assessments for neurodevelopmental conditions across Kent and Medway. The ICB said existing appointments and waiting lists would not change because of the transfer.
Why this matters: Families already waiting should retain their place. New referrals for these specialist services remain through a healthcare professional.
Read the source from NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care BoardChildren and young people's mental health, autism and ADHD · published 2 April 2026 · checked 14 August 2026
pathwayChildren, young people and adults
Support information is available without a diagnosis
The ICB's neurodivergence hub brings together local information for adults, children and young people, including everyday life, school support and Right to Choose questions.
Why this matters: The hub can help with support while an assessment is pending; it does not provide an individual waiting-list update.
Read the source from NHS Kent and Medway Integrated Care BoardAutism, ADHD and wider neurodivergence support · published 2 April 2025 · checked 14 August 2026
ADHD management informationMarch 2026 · checked 14 August 2026
ADHD referral data for NHS Kent and Medway
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
17,535
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 15,330
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 11,300
Open for more than 52 weeks
Possible ADHD referrals recorded in the 52-to-104-week and 104-weeks-or-more bands.
Open referrals
10,555
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 1,040
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 450
People aged 0 to 4
5 to 177,295
People aged 5 to 17
18 to 242,200
People aged 18 to 24
25+7,990
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 QKS. 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 | 17,535 | ADHD003 | FamilyFX added the published March 2026 age-band counts. NHS England rounds these values to the nearest five. |
| Open for more than 13 weeks | At least 15,330 | 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 11,300 | 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 | 10,555 | ADHD004 | FamilyFX added the published March 2026 age-band counts. NHS England rounds these values to the nearest five. |
| New possible referrals in March | At least 1,040 | 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.