A leading London Psychiatrist says the public and private sectors can team up to support patients facing long NHS waiting times for adult ADHD assessment and treatment, which can sometimes reach over eight years.
Dr James Woolley, Consultant Psychiatrist and ADHD Specialist at Schoen Clinic Chelsea in London, explains that if an NHS ADHD Assessment is unavailable in your area, you likely have a right for the NHS to fund an assessment elsewhere.
The NHS tries to follow the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guidelines for service provision, but there are many areas which struggle with capacity.
A study carried out by ADHD UK revealed the true level of backlog in the UK in October 2023. ADHD UK’s findings came from Freedom of Information requests about ADHD from every Integrated Health Board (or equivalent) in the country.
There is a big variation across the UK – from 12 weeks to 443 weeks across various Trusts.
Its survey found the adult waiting the longest has been biding their time for 443 weeks, or 8.5 years.
In the UK, NICE guidelines make clear that trained clinicians can make the required robust ADHD assessment, which is always more complex than completing online questionnaires, to be as certain as possible no other conditions are contributing and that any treatment suggestions are safe and compatible with the overall situation.
Currently, many referrals made by GPs are screened out and rejected before even reaching a proper clinical assessment, and there is no way to get this reviewed. So patients may need to be referred all over again by the GP to restart the process if needed.
Dr Woolley said: “The waiting lists for NHS assessments for many conditions such as autism, ADHD and ADD are simply heartbreaking. People can be in limbo for years, putting them and their families under huge strain.
“They may struggle get on with their lives or pursue education or a career without getting an assessment and family relationships can be strained, delaying the opportunity to understand and therefore receive the treatment they need to get on and live a full life, and be a productive and fulfilled member of society.”
He added: “We know NHS resources are scarce, especially at the moment, but these are conditions that affect a significant number of our working-age adult population; people who could be making a huge contribution to society and the economy – they are a massive resource the country risks inadvertently ignoring, quite aside from the personal impact.”
“The NHS is not at fault, it does an amazing job with the resources it has. The private sector helps support stretched NHS provision in many areas and this is one which can be especially productive,” he added.
Dr Woolley said that the best independent sector providers aim to collaborate with and assist NHS services and GPs wherever possible. Not just making a diagnosis and discharging, but offering detailed assessments followed by robust treatment pathways – holistically, including non-medication approaches.
Many people are choosing now to go private to access proper assessment sooner, especially with the noise on social media making it difficult to be clear about whether there is a diagnosable issue. Schoen Clinic Chelsea offers assessments at just a few days’ notice.
Schoen Clinic’s Consultant Psychiatrists, with extensive experience in ADHD, conduct all of our adult ADHD assessments, guaranteeing a robust diagnosis from a qualified specialist.
Should medication be necessary for the best outcome, our doctors can prescribe appropriate ADHD medications safely. A diagnosis can be a significant benefit in both understanding problems and pursuing one of the many effective treatments available.
Schoen Clinic is also especially familiar with how symptoms can go hidden and unrecognised for longer in women.
For more information about the work of Schoen Clinic Chelsea, please call 020 3146 2300 or visit its website at https://www.schoen-clinic.co.uk/chelsea
