As an organisation, we are committed to supporting patients with neurodevelopmental diagnoses. We are mindful that pressures on NHS services have increased in recent years, and that often patients seek private diagnosis and treatment as a result.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) can affect many aspects of a person’s life. However, diagnosis is complex and requires a specialist, usually a consultant psychiatrist to do this. GPs are not able to make a diagnosis of ADHD and a referral is needed to an ADHD specialist. If an ADHD diagnosis is subsequently made by the specialist, they may choose to offer medications to help manage the symptoms. These medications are potentially dangerous and therefore require careful monitoring.
Once a diagnosis is made, the specialist is responsible for initiating medications, making any adjustments until the dose has been stabilised. The specialist will also remain responsible for arranging an annual review, which includes a review of ADHD symptoms, medication and a physical assessment. Once an established dose of the appropriate medication has been established, we may take on responsibility for on-going prescribing and physical monitoring under a shared care agreement with the NHS service specialist, however responsibility for dose changes and annual reviews remains with the specialist.
Alternatively, patients can exercise their ‘right to choose’ and ask to be referred to a private provider who has an existing contract to provide NHS services. This may be because the wait times are shorter. Details of right of choose providers, and the services they offer can be found at https://adhduk.co.uk/right-to-choose. Not all will prescribe medication so it is worth checking in advance.
You need to be aware that we will only enter into Shared Care Agreement with NHS ADHD services, or Right to Choose providers. If you undertake a private ADHD consultation outside of these pathways, we will not be in a position to prescribe ADHD medication or arrange monitoring. This is because the quality of assessment, diagnosis, and titration is extremely variable. In some cases we cannot be confident about the legitimacy of the diagnosis or the safety of the prescribing. Therefore, if considering a private provider, it is recommended that you should check in advance the costs of ongoing treatment including prescribing and yearly reviews. If a patient who has been diagnosed by a private service wishes to receive their ADHD treatment on the NHS from their GP, they will still need to be referred to an NHS mental health specialist for an assessment. This referral will still need to go through the NHS waiting list. If the NHS mental health specialist feels the patient meets NHS criteria to start ADHD medication, a shared care agreement may then be agreed between the NHS specialist and GP.
For further information on ADHD please visit the NHS website – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/