Healthwatch England: The hidden wait to be prescribed ADHD medication (27 August 2025)

Summary

People with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often face long waiting times to get their diagnosis. In this blog, Healthwatch England highlight from their research that even after diagnosis, people face another wait to get the medication they need to help them manage their condition.

Content

The blog includes several recommendations to improve care for people living with ADHD:

1. Publish official data on titration waiting times. There are no official targets or data collected on waiting times for titration. External research shows variation in waiting times for some, and a totally hidden wait for others. Our research shows publication of this data would provide people with clarity, particularly after long waits for assessment.
2. Fix shared care commissioning so people can get the medication they need. Whether discharged from a hospital team with a prescription or sent back to GPs from independent providers, we have heard from people who struggle to access the medicine they need following an ADHD assessment. Clarity over shared care commissioning and follow-up arrangements is needed, which will require collaboration between NHS England, the General Medical Council (GMC), and the Care Quality Commission (CQC). 
3. Improve communication and signposting to help people understand the process to accessing ADHD medication. This should be via NHS information shared when people are referred, and from independent providers including those who offer assessment-only services. The government should also look at how to address issues from unregulated and unregistered independent providers conducting assessment-only services.
4. Pilot the prescription of ADHD medicine by GP and pharmacy teams. In the long term, we have called for ADHD assessments to move from hospital teams, where there are long waits, to primary and community care teams who work closer to people’s homes. As part of this shift, earlier prescription of preventative medication should be explored, to better help people while they wait for an assessment. 
5. Act to mitigate the impact of medication shortages. The government must continue to find solutions to medicine shortages while doing more to keep the public up to date. This includes producing clear and official information to support people experiencing a shortage to understand timelines and next steps.

Related reading

• Healthwatch England, Recognising ADHD: How to improve support for people who need it (28 May 2025)
• Long waits for ADHD diagnosis and treatment are a patient safety issue (Lotty Tizzard, 15 May 2023)
• NHS England: Report of the independent ADHD Taskforce: Part 1 (20 June 2025)