Thousands of children in England are experiencing some of the sharpest rises in waiting times for healthcare in the history of the NHS, a report has revealed.

While some adult waiting times have improved, children and young people are being “hit hardest” amid soaring demand and falling numbers of staff, according to the annual state of care report by the Care Quality Commission.

In community health services alone, 80,000 children and young people have been waiting more than a year for an appointment – almost 11 times the number of adults, the report said. Experts said that was “wholly unacceptable”. Children’s health conditions were getting worse and becoming harder to treat as a result, they added.

More broadly across health and social care services in England there were signs of improvement, including more GP appointments, increased use of digital solutions and shorter waits for elective care.…