Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what the average waiting time for patients awaiting assessment by a Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service doctor has been for each of the last five years for which data is available in a) Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, b) Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and c) England.

The following table shows the median waiting time in days between a referral start date and the end of the year for referrals for children and young people aged under 18 years old supported through National Health Service funded mental health, who are still waiting for a first contact as of the end of the year, for the Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, the Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, and for England overall:

In addition, the following table shows the median waiting times in days between referral and first contact, for referrals with a first contact in the year, for the last five years for which data is available in the Derbyshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, the Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, and in England overall:

Source: Mental Health Services Data Set (MHSDS).

The methodology is based upon that used in the Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics but has been amended to use the first contact in the financial year rather than the quarter, for those still waiting at the end of the year. Published Mental Health Services Monthly Statistics can be found at the following link:

https://digital.nhs.uk/data-and-information/publications/statistical/mental-health-services-monthly-statistics

A first contact can be defined as either direct contact, for instance contacts where the patient was present and seen by a health professional, or indirect activity, contacts where the patient wasn't present, but their care was discussed by health professionals. This is in line with existing methodologies for children and young people accessing mental health services.

The submission of the staff details table in MHSDS is not mandatory for providers and thus the usage of this table to identify a doctor would likely result in an undercount. Therefore, first contact in this methodology may or may not be with a doctor, but would typically be with an individual considered to be a health professional.

Figures have been rounded to the nearest whole number for waiting time measures.

NHS England has provided data up to March 2025, as data past this point is still subject to change under the multiple submission window model.

The Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust did not submit any open referrals for March 2022 and therefore referrals from this provider cannot be classed as 'still waiting' and are not included in the figures for 2021/22. In addition, the Chesterfield Royal Hospital NHS Foundation Trust did not submit any care contacts with an Age at Care Contact between zero and 17 years old for the whole of 2022/23 and therefore are not included in the figures for 2022/23.