Waiting times for CAMHS in Oxfordshire compared with the rest of England (Updated 4 Jan 2026)
NHS England is, according to Wikipedia, part of the Department of Health and Social Care. It oversees the planning and day-to-day operation of the commissioning side of the NHS in England. In February 2015, NHS England published a guidance document: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/iapt-wait-times-guid.pdf setting out targets for the regional NHS Trusts to work towards in the area of access to psychological therapy (for all ages). In July 2015, NHS England published a guidance document: https://www.england.nhs.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/cyp-eating-disorders-access-waiting-time-standard-comm-guid.pdf which sets out targets for access to treatment for eating disorders in children and young people under 18. In 2016, NHS England introduced guidance for early intervention in a first episode of psychosis. This link is to a guidance document providing implementation advice to NHS Trusts for meeting the targets in this area: https://www.england.nhs.uk/mentalhealth/wp-content/uploads/sites/29/2016/04/eip-resources.pdf
If your child was referred to NHS Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) for mental health support during the last several years (since 2016), it’s my understanding that the following will have been the applicable guidelines:
Waiting time targets for mental health conditions in children (England)
Target time from referral (from GP, school, self-referral, or other) to assessment and start of treatment
US
Maximum of 2 weeks from referral to start of treatment, for a first episode (assessment and start of treatment must take place within 2 weeks.)
Source of this information
Implementing the early intervention in psychosis access and waiting time standard, NHS England, Version 3, 16 Feb 2023, Version 2 Dec 2020
Assess risk over the phone within one day of a referral. If the risk is ‘high’, a clinic assessment must be offered within 5 days. If the risk is classified as ‘routine’, a clinic assessment to be offered within 4 weeks.
Access and Waiting Time Standard for Children and Young People with an Eating Disorder, NHS England, Version 1.0, July 2015
Other condition requiring psy-chological therapy (all ages)
Assessment within 6 weeks and start of treatment within 18 weeks.
Care Quality Commission Brief guide BG012: CAMHS waiting times V4, August 2019
Suspected condition
Psychosis (all ages 14-65)
Eating disorder (adolescents up to age 18)
My child’s experience on the waiting list bore no relation at all to the relevant target. In addition, when they got to the top of the list, the attitude and reactions of the staff I met suggested that they were insufficiently aware of the importance of early intervention.
Trying to gain some insight into the extent to which the targets are reportedly being met is a challenge for a non-specialist. I’ve taken the information in the tables below from reports about children’s mental health services published each year since 2020 by the Children’s Commissioner for England. The waiting times here are for conditions described as ‘Other condition' in the targets shown above (i.e. not psychosis or an eating disorder). There has been a consistent underspend in Oxfordshire since at least the year when the Children’s Commissioner started to publish their reports.
Comparing Oxfordshire CAMHS with average waiting times for England:
CCG = Clinical Commisioning Group
CYPMH = Children's and Young Persons' Mental Health
avg = average
* The counting ends when the child has had 2 contacts with CAMHS: assessment + first contact with case worker
% of CCG budget spent on CYPMH
2018-19
2019-20
2020-21
2021-22
0.92%
0.97%
1.00%
0.99%
0.82%
0.80%
0.86%
0.70%
England avg
Oxfordshire
84 days
74 days
52 days
57 days
53 days
43 days
32 days
40 days
Oxfordshire
£59
£66
£73
£77
England avg
England avg
Oxfordshire
£46
£47
£51
£50
Amount spent on CYPMH
per child in the local population
Median wait from referral to start of treatment *
Year (April-March)
ICB BOB
Amount spent on CYPMH per child referred
England range
22-23
23-24
1.68 - 0.72%
1.72 - 0.77%
63 *
64
£2,236 - £573
£2,513 - £548
0.72%
0.84%
Median wait from referral to start of treatment (days) *
35
43
ICB BOB
£573
£628
Year (April-March)
% of total ICB expenditure spent on CYPMH
During 2022, the reporting changed following a structural re-organisation in the NHS (introducing Integrated Care Boards). Regional expenditure is now shown by ICB, with Oxfordshire forming part of Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West (BOB) and expenditure is now expressed as an amount per child referred, rather than with reference to the number of children in the local population.
ICB BOB
England average
England range
* As mentioned on the 'Home' page, I haven't been able to find the breakdown between the 3 counties for 2023-24, but for 2022-23, when Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West had the lowest spend per child in England on children's mental health, the median waiting times for the 3 county-level NHS Trusts in that ICB were:
Median wait in days for a referral to CAMHS 2022/23
Buckinghamshire
55
Oxfordshire
82
Berkshire West
59
Source: Children's Commissioner's report on Children's mental health 2022-23, March 2024 (Annex A1)