I’ve lost count of the number of times that I have seen a post on social media from someone wanting an ADHD assessment and being told that the waiting list for the NHS in England is years long, often at least three and climbing.
People are paying privately for an assessment or just self diagnosing and trying to somehow keep going with an impossibly long queue to sit in. Some just give up and accept that the NHS can’t help them.
Disturbingly some have said that their GP said that they have nowhere to refer patients to. But there is the Right to Choose (RTC) option albeit that more providers are closing their doors to new providers.
Linked here is an explanation of how the RTC option works, essentially when the NHS exhausts its own resources it will often contract with private providers as something of an overflow.
In my own experience, the NHS Trust locally in Nottingham has a long waiting list so I chose to have an assessment through the RTC route with Skylight Psychiatry based in Basingstoke, Hampshire a way away from here. It’s not dependent on being local but providers with capacity should be able to take a GP referral.
Not all is rosy in the garden though. Many NHS Trusts will not recognise some of these providers so you may get assessed and then struggle to obtain medication. In some cases people end up then getting referred to the NHS and join the queue for an assessment that the Trust recognises. Some people just want validation they indeed are/have ADHD but others would want more help.
Some of the RTC providers can give medication with a shorter waiting list but many GP practices won’t ’share care’ (contractually they don’t have to) with providers and so your continuing care may be outside of mainstream general practice.
So to anybody wondering what the options are, fill out an ASDS1 form and take it to your GP with examples of where you think ADHD shows up and ask for a referral through Right to Choose.
You have a choice of who you want to be referred to so look at websites to find out waiting times (mine took less than two months), check the CQC website (Care Quality Commission – like OFSTED for care providers) to see how your shortlisted options are assessed and if possible get personal recommendations.
Some GPs may not be so aware of that route so perhaps print out the document linked in this article and take it with you, this link to ‘ADHD UK’ aims to maintain a list of providers your GP can refer to so by all means take this to your GP – RTC for ADHD has only been around since 2018 and genuinely some GPs may just not be aware of it.
Good luck, persevere and put that hyperfocus to good use!
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