Adult ADHD Diagnosis and Treatment Review Psychiatry UK 1 Year On

This is my review of the whole process from referral to diagnosis, treatment, and nearly a year of taking stimulants for ADHD.

If you think you have ADHD your GP can refer you for an ADHD assessment with your local provider or you can choose to go down the private route. NHS waiting times across the UK, especially in England, can take anything up to FIVE YEARS in some areas, with the majority of cases taking at least two years just to get an initial assessment.

April 2022 Update
Psychiatry-UK is fully booked until at least October 2022 and is currently not taking bookings. The clinic will get in touch with referred patients as soon as possible, and they aim to schedule new clients in chronological order of the date their referrals were received. Their website is updated on a regular basis with new information.

Since posting this video a number of other clinics have been used through Right To Choose in England. The ADHD UK website has some useful information, including a letter you can send to your GP if your Right To Choose is declined.

Find out more at /

After waiting for two years for ADHD treatment through the NHS in England I eventually received treatment from Psychiatry-UK, a psychiatry service providing Adult ADHD Diagnosis and ADHD treatments virtually.

My own ADHD diagnosis in early childhood is in my medical records but the local ADHD provision rejected my referral to their service after several attempts by my doctor, because they would not re-diagnose ADHD and only treat patients that have been diagnosed by their service, leaving me in limbo, and potentially thousands of others.

Private ADHD treatment in the UK is relatively expensive, and not always accessible. I asked my GP to refer me to Psychiatry-UK (P-UK) for assessment and treatment under The NHS Choice Framework which gives you the Right To Choose your treatment provider. My GP agreed and the local commissioners agreed to fund my treatment.

Within two weeks of the GP referral, I had a virtual appointment with a psychiatrist specialising in ADHD and received a diagnosis (again!) of ADHD. Just having this in writing was a relief and a huge weight off my shoulders. The titration process began a week or two later and once I found a medication that seemed to help, my GP agreed to a shared care agreement so that I can now get prescriptions easily and via the NHS instead of paying hundreds of pounds each month.

I hope this has been useful. See some links below to find out what ADDtrepreneur is about and to learn more about adult ADHD in the UK.

#AdultADHD #ADHDtreatment #ADHD #neurodiversity

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Resources and further reading:
ADHD Symptoms and Self-Report Checklist:
Psychiatry UK ADHD info:
Forms to give to your GP:
The NHS Choice Framework:
NICE Guidelines for ADHD:
ADHD Diagnosis and Management UK (NICE)
NHS UK ADHD Overview
BBC News ‘ADHD assessment system ‘broken’ with five-year waiting times’: 4

https://medbusiness.net/adult-adhd-diagnosis-and-treatment-review-psychiatry-uk-1-year-on/

The rising rate of ADHD has many parents wondering if the diagnosis is too subjective.

"I think there would probably be some chemical imbalance or something they would need to do further testing - other than making that decision or diagnosis just by looking at the child," says dad Kris Willing.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a clinical diagnosis based on a collection of symptoms rather than a single test. That opens it up to interpretation. If you wonder whether your child has ADHD, work with a doctor who follows nationally recognized standards set forth by governing pediatric and psychiatric groups.

"A lot of people think they can just spot a child and say 'oh that child is hyper active'. Meaning that sure it's an active child, it engages in a lot of gross motor behavior, but that doesn't mean that child has a disorder," says Dr. Elena Reyes, clinical psychologist with Lee Memorial Health System.

A key point in making an ADHD diagnosis is that symptoms must be present in more than one setting. Which is why the evaluation includes observations from parents, caregivers and teachers.

"When we actually do an evaluation for ADHD we really try to do a thorough evaluation. So what you're doing is not only observing the child, you're getting information from the parents but you're also getting information from the teacher. Because one of the things we know the demand characteristics in the classroom are very different than for example the dinner table or watching TV," says Reyes.

A psychologist, pediatrician or neurologist will rate a child's behavior compared to peers. Symptoms to look out for are: constant motion, fidgeting, distractedness and inability to finish tasks. Evaluations should wait until age seven. And remember, ADHD isn't a blanket for every bothersome behavior.

"It may just be a cause of today's technology- with kids being in front of iPad's and iPhones, tablets, whatever," says Willing.



View More Health Matters video segments at leememorial.org/healthmatters/

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we've been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.

Visit leememorial.org