Some of Cumbria’s most vulnerable children are being failed by the system with families waiting up to three years for a life-altering diagnosis.

And, as the cash-strapped health authority which treats people with autism battles with a mountain of admin and a cut to resources, it has emerged that a lack of equipment has seen some doctors resorting to taking their own bathroom scales to appointments to weigh children.

The independent review into the diagnosis and management of children with autism in the county was commissioned by Cumbria Partnership NHS Foundation Trust, but has highlighted a series of major concerns.

Janine Wigmore, area policy officer for the north of England at the National Autistic Society, said: “The society has been working for several years to raise serious concerns about the poor autism diagnosis and post-diagnosis support service for children in Cumbria.

“The report describes the current service as ‘grinding to its knees’, with children waiting up to three years for a diagnosis which is far too long and puts families under even more pressure.”

In 2012 it was estimated that at least 1,060 children and young people in the county are believed to have autism spectrum conditions – although with many undiagnosed, the figure could be even higher.

Author Karen Horridge, a paediatric consultant in disability from Sunderland, praised the enthusiastic, committed and determined staff and their excellent working relationships with other agencies.

But she singled out a string of issues which need to be urgently addressed.

Dr Horridge said: “Families have lost confidence in the care pathway, which takes too long to reach a conclusion, lacks transparency and is not consistent across the county.

“Clinics are not all delivered in premises that are child or family friendly and lack appropriate support and equipment. The autism assessment has become unwieldy and lacks strong clinical leadership.

“Austerity is challenging services across agencies, which are more stretched with less resources to draw upon.”

In the time it takes to reach an outcome during diagnosis, she revealed it can be up to three years before families receive feedback.

“Those families who shout loudest get seen soonest,” she added, “the most vulnerable families who are less good at advocating for themselves wait longest, despite often their children having the greatest needs.”

Dr Horridge did not just focus on procedures and pressures on staff in her review, but also looked at equipment and facilities. She revealed that not all clinic facilities are child-friendly and not all have appropriate weighing and measuring equipment for children and young people.

“Doctors [are] having to carry their own equipment, including their bathroom scales to weigh older young people,” the report states.

The trust has pledged that it is working with parents in implementing improvements highlighted in the report.

Dr Raj Verma, associate medical director/paediatric lead, is leading a number of sessions with parents, clinicians and partners.

He said: “Thanks to this review, we know exactly where we need to improve and have some excellent recommendations for improvement that can be translated into various work-streams.

“Work is already underway to address the recommendations and a stakeholder event has also taken place in Penrith which enabled all individuals with links to autism to come together and present ideas to co-design an enhanced service pathway.

“This event marked the beginning of robust parent involvement in future developments of the service.”