Experts have disputed Wes Streeting’s claim that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is overdiagnosed in the UK, saying that if anything, the condition is actually likely to be underdiagnosed.
In a paper published in the British Journal of Psychiatry, 32 experts including clinicians, academics, and patients warned the main challenge surrounding ADHD is that services “cannot adequately support”.
“Alarmist” rhetoric around a fear of overdiagnosis of ADHD could work to “deny” people the care they need, the team said.
It comes after health secretary Wes Streeting ordered a review into the diagnosis of mental health and neurodevelopmental conditions including ADHD.
Mr Streeting reportedly tasked leading experts with investigating whether common human emotions have become “over-pathologised”.
Professor Chris Hollis, co-author of the study from the University of Nottingham, said: “While the incidence of ADHD diagnosis has increased significantly since 2020—particularly in women and young adults—NHS administrative data in England shows no evidence of overdiagnosis with the rate of ADHD diagnosis remaining below the expected levels of ADHD in the population."
He described the recent rise in ADHD diagnosis as a “catch-up” of “many years of under recognition and under diagnosis”.
“Hence, rather than ‘overdiagnosis’ the real concern should be the unacceptably long waiting times, sometimes over years, that people experience in the NHS for diagnosis, support and treatment,” he continued.
Source: The Independent, 6 March 2026
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