Calls for better access to tongue-tie services amid differences in waiting times around Yorkshire

It's claimed some Yorkshire mums are being forced to quit breastfeeding before they wanted to because of issues getting their baby's tongue-tie corrected.

The condition, also known as ankyloglossia, means the piece of skin that attaches the tongue to the bottom of the mouth is shorter or thicker than normal which can affect the baby’s ability to feed.

It can be fixed with a simple surgical procedure, but Freedom of Information figures from NHS trusts across Yorkshire suggest differences in waiting times, with some parents waiting weeks.

Figures from Sheffield Children's NHS Foundation Trust suggest a large rise in the numbers of patients waiting three weeks or longer for a tongue-tie division.

In 2019, 788 procedures were carried out, with just under 3 per cent of those waiting three weeks or longer. The average wait was 10 days.

Last year, 882 procedures were carried out with 43 per cent waiting three weeks or longer. The average wait was 22 days.

Elsewhere in South Yorkshire, the NHS Trusts in Rotherham and Barnsley told us they couldn't provide any waiting time data, whilst Doncaster doesn't have a tongue-tie service.

Craig Radford, Chief Operating Officer at Sheffield Children’s NHS Foundation Trust said: “At Sheffield Children’s we understand that long waits for our services can be difficult for families.

"We have invested in our tongue-tie service to make sure we can see babies as soon as possible. This includes weekend clinics, employing a specialist tongue-tie nurse and putting in place training opportunities for other infant feeding nurses to best support the families we care for in South Yorkshire, Lincolnshire and Bassetlaw.”

'I was dreading her waking up to feed'

Carly from Kirklees ended up getting the procedure done privately for her daughter after being told it would be a 40-minute drive and a two-week wait.

“They’ve only got the one clinic a week for everyone in the area, so they’re busy,” she says.

“But when you’re worried they’re not feeding properly, you’re feeling the pressure because you’re their source of life and all their nutrition.

“There’s also the pain it’s causing you if they’re not latching right. I was at the point where I was dreading her waking up wanting feeding because I knew it was going to hurt. We ended up going privately just to get it done so we weren’t struggling on for however many weeks.

“That wouldn’t necessarily be an option for everyone so you’d have been struggling all that time and that might put people off and make them switch to formula because of the pain. It’s a long time to be struggling with that.”

Rebecca Clacher runs a breast-feeding group in Holmfirth and says some women are doing just that:

“Sometimes they’re told they’re having to wait for weeks which, obviously tongue-tie can cause weight issues, it can cause real pain… to wait anything over a day or so is really challenging for parents.

“We have quite a few parents here who’ve ended up going private because they’ve been told they need to wait and sometimes it’s made the difference between them carrying on breastfeeding or not.”

Gemma Puckett, Director of Midwifery and Women’s Services at Calderdale and Huddersfield NHS Trust, said: “The health and wellbeing of mothers and babies is our absolute priority, and in most cases we are able to perform a tongue tie correction procedure within 24 hours of a diagnosis being made.

“As a clinical procedure, this will normally take place at Calderdale Royal, where our maternity, neonatal and paediatric inpatient services are located.”

In West Yorkshire, figures from the Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust show the average wait for an appointment at the midwifery-led tongue-tie clinic is 11 days. The clinic has been operating since March 2023.

The Trust says tongue-tie is usually diagnosed at the point of review in the clinic and the procedure undertaken at the same time – with an average wait of two weeks between ‘suspected tongue-tie' and diagnosis/treatment in clinic.

In 2019, 43 babies waited three weeks or longer for a tongue-tie division following a referral, compared to 224 babies in 2023 – although the Trust adds that some of the lengthier waits are by choice as families choose to see if things like adjustments to positioning is enough before proceeding with the procedure.

In Bradford, the average waiting time for the midwife-led service in 2023 was five days, with just three babies waiting longer than three weeks.

Figures from Airedale NHS Foundation Trust show the average waiting time is 7 days or under from the date of referral, with no babies waiting longer than 3 weeks.

Mid Yorkshire Teaching NHS Trust says diagnosis and procedure take place on the same day, with just five babies waiting longer than three weeks in 2023.

An NHS North East and Yorkshire spokesperson said: "Every baby is different, and it is important for midwives and healthcare professionals to treat each case individually. All midwives are trained to support women whose babies are experiencing difficulties due to tongue-tie and we expect local NHS teams to work closely with parents to understand their concerns, provide responsive, high-quality care, and learn from each other to reduce variation in treatment."