Using Data Science techniques to address delays in the pathway for Neurodiversity Diagnoses in Children and Young People in Devon


30 Second Summary

In Devon, around 6,000 children have waited over 52 weeks for a neurodiversity diagnosis, crucial for their education and independence. This project aims to reduce the waiting list and streamline the process using DES modelling, NLP, machine learning, and geographic modelling to identify inequalities and optimise resource allocation.

Discrete Event Simulation (DES)
Natural Language Processing (NLP)
Geographic Modelling
Machine Learning
Patient Pathways
Neurodiversity
Paediatric
Waiting Lists
Waiting Times
Authors
Affiliation

Chris Meredith

Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Tristan Franklin

Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Mike Cooke

Devon Partnership NHS Trust

Currently, across multiple healthcare providers in Devon, around 6,000 children have been waiting more than 52 weeks for a neurodiversity diagnosis. These diagnoses can unlock a number of measures otherwise unavailable to the children to help support their education and independence.

The project will aim to reduce the current waiting list, as well as introduce analytic tools that aim to streamline the current process and keep referral times low.

Approaches used will include: