NHS Lothian ordered to apologise as around 11,000 children on neurodiversity waiting lists

A health board has been ordered to apologise to a whistleblower over delays in tackling long neurodiversity testing waiting lists for children.

The Scottish Public Services Ombudsman, acting as the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer, found that NHS Lothian failed to develop an appropriate plan to cut down a waiting list that has risen to around 11,000 children.

A report into the investigation revealed that a whistleblower first raised their concerns with the health board in October 2024, at which time the waiting list was at around 7,500 patients.

Despite the concerns being upheld by in 2025, they had still not developed a reasonable action plan to address the waiting lists.

The waiting list has since continued to grow.

It was also found that NHS Lothian’s arrangements for dealing with whistleblowing concerns were not robust enough to ensure that action was taken quickly and effectively.

The Ombudsman has now told the health board to apologise to the whistleblower and develop and implement a clear action plan to tackle the waiting lists.

NHS Lothian has also been told to ensure its whistleblowing arrangements meet national standards.

Paul McFadden from the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman said, “Whistleblowing is an essential safeguard in our NHS. In this case, the concerns were recognised as valid, but the lack of timely action to address these concerns undermined the effectiveness of the whistleblowing process.

“This lack of action in follow up to concerns is a consistent theme across many of the whistleblowing complaints investigated by my office, and a point of learning for all NHS Boards.

“Staff should feel confident that raising concerns will lead to change. That confidence is critical to maintaining safe, effective and responsive NHS services.

“My team will be monitoring this case to ensure that my recommendations are carried out in full.”