ADHD waiting list led to rise in unregulated private providers
The ADHD taskforce, commissioned by NHS England with the support of the Government, has published an interim report saying the system for diagnosing and managing ADHD needs to be overhauled.
At the moment, ADHD assessment and treatment in England is provided by highly specialised doctors in secondary care.
But the report warned: 'Inability to access NHS services has led to a significant growth in the use of private providers that are not regulated, resulting in two-tier access to services, diagnosis and treatment; one for those who can pay and another for those who cannot.
'This drives health inequalities and links to disproportionate impacts and outcomes in the education and justice systems, employment and health.'
Experts behind the study said waiting times for NHS ADHD services 'have escalated and are unacceptably long' and demand on services is 'very likely' to continue to rise.
The taskforce concluded that ADHD is not solely the remit of the NHS and other health providers, with schools being vital for identifying and meeting needs at an early stage.
And while a clinical diagnosis of ADHD via the NHS is required if a person needs medication, early support can still be provided to others.
The report said: 'We need timely recognition and early support of suspected ADHD and neurodivergence across all settings.
'This is especially important in schools and the early years, to prevent adverse impacts and costly outcomes in the future. This should be needs-led and not require a clinical diagnosis.'
The report also suggested there is no evidence of over-diagnosis of ADHD in the UK.
It argued: 'England and the rest of the UK have much lower service recognition and treatment rates of ADHD diagnosis compared with other European countries.
'Recent data show a very high level of under-recognition and under-treatment of strictly diagnosed ADHD, with significant inequalities in access to care.'
The report also addressed concerns about potential 'over-medicalisation and over-diagnosis', including worries that people are self-diagnosing ADHD based on information from social media.
However, the report, said that 'currently there is no good evidence on what percentage of those waiting to see a clinician have self-diagnosed ADHD using social media and eventually meet or do not meet ADHD diagnostic criteria after a high-quality assessment.
'We only know currently that in England, recognised rates of ADHD are lower than the expected prevalence of ADHD.'
Currently, the estimated economic costs of not treating ADHD are around £17 billion to the UK economy, the report went on.
This includes through lower tax contributions, people needing state benefits and more likely to be not in education, employment or training, or who are long-term unemployed.
'Many of these costs are avoidable, as with appropriate, early support, people with ADHD can thrive,' it said.
Professor Anita Thapar, chair of the ADHD Taskforce, said: 'The recommendations put forward by the taskforce will require action across Government and cross-sector organisations to make the necessary changes to improve the lives of people with ADHD.
'We need to get this right, to make sure people get early diagnosis and support, not just in the NHS but across society.'
Dr Adrian James, NHS England's medical director for mental health and neurodiversity, said: 'We know that too many people with ADHD have been waiting for too long for support, which is why we launched the taskforce last year to help respond to the significant growth in the need for care.
'It is clear that much more needs to be done to improve ADHD assessment and care in England and ensure people can get a timely diagnosis, and we welcome the findings from the interim report, and look forward to its final conclusions later this year.'
The NHS has launched publicly-available data collection on ADHD referrals and waiting times to help local teams better understand how they are performing.
By March 2026, the Government also aims for six in 10 pupils to have access to a mental health support team in school.
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