Patients with a suspected autism referral in Devon waited more than two years on average for an assessment in June, new figures suggest.

The National Autistic Society warned of "staggering" waits for assessments across England, adding "the case for more direction and funding from central Government is crystal clear".

It comes a month after the parliamentary Health and Social Care Committee expressed its concern with waiting times faced by children to get autism and ADHD assessments and urged the Government "to prioritise ending these long waits".

New NHS England figures show patients with a suspected autism referral in the NHS Devon Integrated Care Board area waited an average of two years and two months to get assessed in June.

It was up from two years and one month a year earlier, and above the 17-month average across England.

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines recommend individuals with suspected autism should have a diagnostic assessment started within three months of referral.

The figures also show waiting times for an assessment were longer for children and young people in England, who had to wait more than 18 months on average.

In Devon, under 18s waited two years and two months on average to get assessed in June.

Tim Nicholls, assistant director of policy, research and strategy at the National Autistic Society, described the 17-month average wait in England as "staggering".

He said: "The problem isn’t that more people are seeking an assessment, but rather the efficiency and capacity at a local level.

"The case for more direction and funding from central Government is crystal clear."

The figures show the number of people referred for an autism assessment across England has increased steadily over the past few years.

Some 236,225 people were waiting for an assessment in June – up 15% from 205,958 a year earlier and a 53% rise on 154,147 in June 2023.

Of those, nearly nine in ten (89%) had been waiting for at least three months, slightly higher than 87% the previous year and up from 82% two years earlier.

In Devon, 11,835 patients were waiting for an assessment in June, including 93% with a referral that had been open three months or longer.

Mr Nicholls said: "Getting an assessment shouldn’t be this hard.

"Autism assessments can be the first step to understanding people’s needs and a diagnosis can be life changing and, in some cases, lifesaving.

"Autistic people and their families face a constant fight for support and far too often this starts with long waits for a diagnosis."

He added: "The Government must provide urgent funding for diagnosis services to end this worsening crisis, and make sure autistic people and families get the support they need when they need it."

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: "Autistic people have been let down by the broken NHS we inherited and we know many are waiting too long for a diagnosis.

"We are putting patients first as we work to speed up appointments and improve care.

"Our 10 Year Health Plan sets out how the NHS will offer support earlier to children with Special Educational Needs, including autistic children, to reduce pressure and get them the right support quicker."

An NHS England spokesperson said: "All patients, including neurodivergent people, deserve the best possible experience of NHS care, and we recognise these long waits are unacceptable and cause distress."

They added the NHS has published national guidance to support local providers in delivering "high-quality autism assessment services", and rolled out additional and compulsory training on learning disability and autism for NHS staff and psychiatrists.