Attention ADHD waiting lists ‘clogged by patients returning from private care to NHS’

Waiting lists for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in England are being clogged by patients returning to NHS care after difficulties with private assessments, a trust has warned.

The major NHS trust said people referred by GPs to private clinics using health service funding were increasingly asking to be transferred back after care stalled.

These include cases where private clinics are able to diagnose ADHD but their assessments do not always comply with guidelines from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, or where providers lack staff with the appropriate qualifications to support continued prescribing.

The consequences for patients can be severe. Some are facing prescription costs of more than £200 a month after GPs said they could no longer work with private clinics under shared care agreements.

The father of one man whose shared care agreement was withdrawn after three years said: “With no warning, the GP practice announced they would stop prescribing within six months because the provider was ‘out of area’. They’ve referred my son to the local NHS service, MPFT [Midlands partnership university NHS foundation trust], but waiting times exceed six months – guaranteeing a treatment gap.

“My son holds down a responsible job and has bought his own home. None of this would have been possible without medication. Without it, he struggles to focus at work, can’t manage daily organisation and experiences overwhelming anxiety. His consultant has warned of ‘predictable harms’ if treatment stops.”

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Source: The Guardian, 23 January 2026