College calls for targeted investment to expand ADHD services
A BBC investigation has revealed that nearly 200,000 adults are waiting to receive an ADHD assessment across the UK. The BBC estimate it would take more than eight years for the NHS to clear this backlog.
Providing the main expert opinion on the story, the College highlighted that services are struggling to manage rising demand but that “no one should be made to wait years for life-changing care”.
This featured in the BBC’s online article which appeared on their home news page and was leading on their health page.
Dr Jessica Eccles, Chair of the College’s Neurodevelopmental Psychiatrist Special Interest Group, spoke to the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 about this issue (listen from 2:36:15).
She explained that receiving an ADHD diagnosis at the right time can be “transformative for people’s lives”.
Dr Eccles also encouraged people who wanted to find out more about ADHD to use reliable sources, such as the NHS and the College’s award winning ADHD in adults resource, during an interview on BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat.
In our full response to the story, we called for targeted investment to help expand ADHD services and increase their capacity to deliver timely assessments and follow-up care.
We also emphasised the importance of routine data collection to help assess the scale of the challenge facing services and the role the new ADHD taskforce can play in developing better solutions.
The College is hosting an online event for general adult psychiatrists to help educate them about nature, assessment and management of ADHD on 20 November. People can still book to attend the event via the 'Book now' link.