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Found 27 results
  1. News Article
    The continuing shortage of ADHD medication is causing those with the condition increasing stress and anxiety, the BBC has been told. Pharmacists said the problem persists despite a government assurance it would be resolved by the end of last year. In September, the Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) blamed the UK-wide scarcity on "increased global demand and manufacturing issues". It said the disruption was "expected to resolve" between October and December. Lorraine Jukes, who has ADHD, said: "Here I am in April 2024, with only four days of medication left." The 36-year-old, from Iffley, Oxford, said she was "frantically phoning through lists of pharmacies" and being told there was no stock and no indication of any being available before she runs out. Oliver Picard, vice chair of the National Pharmacy Association, said: "We were told it would be resolved in December. "Some of the medication is starting to come back. In March, we had the supply of a certain brand of ADHD medication, we are now seeing shortages of other ADHD medication and we don't have a date for resupply. "Sometimes we can get some but will be limited to one packet per month pharmacy and that's not helpful either. It's hugely frustrating." Read full story Source: BBC News, 15 April 2024
  2. News Article
    The NHS is experiencing an “avalanche of need” over autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but the system in place to cope with surging demand for assessments and treatments is “obsolete”, a health thinktank has warned. There must be a “radical rethink” of how people with the conditions are cared for in England if the health service is to meet the rapidly expanding need for services, according to the Nuffield Trust. The thinktank is calling for a “whole-system approach” across education, society and the NHS, amid changing social attitudes and better awareness of the conditions. It comes days after the NHS announced a major review of ADHD services. Thea Stein, the chief executive of the Nuffield Trust, said: “The extraordinary, unpredicted and unprecedented rise in demand for autism assessments and ADHD treatments have completely overtaken the NHS’s capacity to meet them. It is frankly impossible to imagine how the system can grow fast enough to fulfil this demand. “We shouldn’t underestimate what this means for children in particular: many schools expect an assessment and formal diagnosis to access support – and children and their families suffer while they wait.” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 April 2024
  3. Content Article
    Long waiting times for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments can prevent people from getting the vital care and medication they need. Health and education support often relies on a formal diagnosis, without which there can be severe negative consequences. Estimates show that there might be as many as 1.2 million autistic people and 2.2 million people with ADHD in England, and providing them with the right support is no small task. Recent news reports have highlighted a huge rise in demand for autism and ADHD diagnoses amid increased awareness and understanding of neurodiversity. Exploring referrals and waits for autism and ADHD assessments is a key first step to understanding the scale of the issue, which can then be used to drive improvements and change. This blog from the Nuffield Trust looks at what the data is telling us.
  4. News Article
    Drugs used to treat ADHD are being openly traded in "potentially lethal" doses to UK buyers on encrypted apps, a BBC North West investigation has found. Criminals are cashing in on a national shortage to offer the prescription tablets in a secret mail-order service. The BBC found an unregulated online market stacked with medication which high street chemists were struggling to stock. It is feared patients are turning to the black market in desperation, but one psychiatrist has warned some of the drugs could contain other potentially harmful chemicals. Thousands of people with ADHD have been unable to get prescribed medication amid a major supply shortage. The BBC has heard how the situation has left children and adults in limbo and with the shortage set to last until December many are believed to be turning to illegitimate traders to help treat the condition. The BBC took these findings to Dr Morgan Toerien, associate specialist in mental health at Beyond Clinics in Warrington, who said: "A lot of these drugs are potentially lethal, not just dangerous - particularly if you weren't used to taking them and if you took a higher dose. "During my work in illicit drug treatment, we've tested people alleged to have taken a lot of the drugs seen on this channel and they don't actually contain what they say they do." He said people could be taking a tablet purporting to be to treat ADHD, but could be "far more dangerous". Read full story Source: BBC News, 28 February 2024
  5. News Article
    "Taking medication meant my brain was quiet for the first time; it was amazing, I cried because I was so happy," Jass Thethi, whose life was transformed after an ADHD diagnosis just over a year ago, told a BBC North West investigation. But the 34-year-old's joy was short-lived because, like more than 150,000 others who live with the condition and are reliant on medication, Jass has been affected by a UK-wide medicine shortage that started in September. Jass, who lives in Levenshulme, Greater Manchester, said: "When the medication shortage started I had to go back to white knuckling everyday life… I had to take the decision to change things and I had to quit the job I was doing." The charity ADHD UK said it had recorded a "significant decline" in the availability of medicines, with only 11% having their normal prescription in January, a drop from 52% in September. The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said increased global demand and manufacturing issues were behind the shortages. Dr Morgan Toerien, associate specialist in mental health at Beyond Clinics in Warrington, said Jass's experience was not unique and many patients' lives had been "completely destabilised". Read full story Source: BBC News, 27 February 2024 Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy? To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in our Community post. We would also like to hear from pharmacists working in community or hospital settings, and others who have insights to share on this issue.
  6. News Article
    A woman said she has been unable to get her ADHD medication for months. Hannah Huxford, 49, from Grimsby is one of thousands of patients unable to get hold of medicine to manage their symptoms due to a national shortage. Mrs Huxford, who was diagnosed with the condition two years ago, described the situation as a "huge worry". The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it had taken action to improve the supply of medicines but added that "some challenges remain". Mrs Huxford said the medicine made a "huge difference" and got her life back on track. "It enables me to function and concentrate so I can be more proactive, I can be more productive," she explained. She said she had been unable to get her usual supply since October 2023 and has to ration what she can get hold of. "Christmas time it was just getting beyond a joke. I was going back to the pharmacy, probably two or three times in a month, just to collect the little IOUs and it was getting to the point where that, in itself, was becoming a stress," she said. "All of a sudden, if this medication is taken away from me, I'm frightened that I will go back to not being able to cope." James Davies, from the Royal Pharmaceutical Society, said the supply shortage has been caused by manufacturing problems and an increase in demand. "There are more people who are being diagnosed with ADHD, more people seeking to access ADHD treatments. That's not just related to the UK, this is a global problem," he said. Mr Davies said some ADHD medication has come back into stock but added "it's quite a fluid situation at the moment". Read full story Source: BBC News, 19 February 2024 Have you (or a loved one) ever been prescribed medication that you were then unable to get hold of at the pharmacy? To help us understand how these issues impact the lives of patients and families, please share your experience and insights in our community thread on the topic: You'll need to register with the hub first, its free and easy to do. We would also like to hear from pharmacists working in community or hospital settings, and others who have insights to share on this issue. What barriers and challenges have you seen around medication availability? Is there anything that can be done to improve wider systems or processes?
  7. News Article
    A coroner overseeing a teenager's inquest has warned there will be more deaths unless mental health services improve for autistic people at risk of self-harm. Morgan-Rose Hart, 18, who had ADHD, autism and a history of mental illness had been a patient at a unit in Harlow, Essex, for three weeks. An inquest jury concluded she died by misadventure contributed to by neglect. Ms Hart, from Chelmsford, died in hospital six days after she was found unresponsive in the bathroom of her mental health accommodation in the Derwent Centre in Harlow, Essex in July 2022. The inquest into her death heard staff observations were falsified and critical observations were missed. In her Prevention of Future Deaths report, Ms Hayes said: "There is a significant shortfall of appropriate placements for people with autism who have mental health and self-harm risks in Essex both inpatient and in the community." She added: "During the course of the inquest the evidence revealed matters giving rise to concern. "In my opinion, there is a risk that future deaths will occur unless action is taken." Read full story Source: BBC News, 8 January 2024
  8. Content Article
    Morgan-Rose Hart died after she was found unresponsive while being detained under section 3 of the Mental Health Act at the Derwent Centre at the Princess Alexandra Hospital in Essex. Morgan-Rose was last clinically observed at 14.06 on 6 July 2022 and in between the last observation and when Morgan-Rose was discovered the Coroner notes that multiple failings in her care took place, including consecutive hours observations being incorrect and falsified.
  9. Community Post
    The impact of living with undiagnosed ADHD can be significant, but adults and children in the UK are sometimes having to wait years for an initial ADHD assessment. Have you been diagnosed with ADHD? Are you or your child on a waiting list for ADHD diagnosis or treatment? Or are you a healthcare professional that works with people with ADHD? Please share your experiences of assessment and diagnosis with us. You'll need to be a hub member to comment below, it's quick, easy and free to do. You can sign up here. You can read more about the issues related to ADHD diagnosis in this blog: Long waits for ADHD diagnosis and treatment are a patient safety issue
  10. News Article
    No senior NHS England director is prepared to take responsibility for ADHD services — which are facing waits of up to a decade and severe medication shortages — HSJ has discovered. Despite soaring demand for assessments and widespread drug shortages recently triggering a national patient safety alert, responsibility for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder services does not sit within any NHS England directorate. HSJ understands that none of NHSE’s mental health, learning disability, or autism programmes have been given any resources for ADHD. It is also claimed that the medical and long-term conditions teams “are not very interested” in taking responsibility, and “assumed someone else was doing it”. A senior source, very close to the issue, told HSJ that no NHS senior director had taken “ownership” of the issue, and there was a widespread misapprehension that responsibility for ADHD services was part of the autism remit given to the mental health directorate. “We haven’t got the attention we need around ADHD,” said the source, “we need a [dedicated] neurodiversity programme.” Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 26 October 2023
  11. News Article
    Children are not being over-diagnosed with ADHD despite concerns about a spike in prescriptions of powerful stimulant drugs, a leading psychiatrist has said. NHS statistics show 125,000 children and teenagers in England are taking drugs such as Ritalin for symptoms such as poor concentration, up by a quarter since before the Covid pandemic. Isobel Heyman, a consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist at Great Ormond Street Hospital and lead for child mental health at Cambridge Children’s Hospital, said that on the whole ADHD remained “under-treated” and that this was driving high levels of mental illness in young people. Speaking to the Times Health Commission, Heyman said: “My understanding is that the increase in prescribing is largely related to increased diagnosis and increased recognition … We are still overall slightly under-treating [rather] than over-treating. “There is a problem about over-medicalisation of ordinary distress, ordinary ebullience and over-enthusiasm in young people.” She said the public should be reassured that ADHD diagnoses follow a “very stringent” process. However, she said private adult ADHD clinics may be less “rigorous” in providing a diagnosis. Read full story (paywalled) Source: The Times, 18 October 2023 Further reading: Long waits for ADHD diagnosis and treatment are a patient safety issue
  12. Content Article
    Information from ADHD on the elvanse and atomoxetine drug shortage and what you should do.
  13. News Article
    ADHD patients around the UK are finding they can't get hold of medication since a national shortage was announced. Three different medicines are affected, and the government says some supply issues could last until December. The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) says "increased global demand and manufacturing issues" are behind the shortages. Medication helps to manage symptoms, which can include difficulty concentrating and focusing, hyperactivity and impulsiveness. Dr Saadia Arshad, a consultant psychiatrist, who specialises in diagnosing and treating people with ADHD. She says the shortage of medication is "not a new issue, but it's a recurring one". Dr Saadia says suddenly stopping meds can lead to patients "feeling jittery, finding it difficult to pay attention, staying focused and feeling restless". Even though she understands the shortage can be worrying, Dr Saadia says it's important that people don't take measures into their own hands. "These medicines can be quite potent and the response to medication for two individuals is not the same," she says. "So please do not take any action without discussing it with your clinician." Read full story Source: BBC News, 6 October 2023
  14. News Article
    Prescribers should not start any new patients on some ADHD medicines because of a national shortage, the Department for Health and Social Care has warned. GPs are also being asked to identify and contact all patients currently prescribed the medicines to ensure they have supplies to last. A national patient safety alert said there were ‘supply disruptions’ of various strengths of methylphenidate, lisdexamfetamine and guanfacine. It follows a previous alert about shortages of atomoxetine capsules in August which is set to resolve next month, DHSC said. The shortages are due to a combination of manufacturing issues and an increased global demand, the alert explained. With the latest issues expected to continue to December for some medicines, new patients should not be started on the products affected by shortages until the supply issue resolves, the guidance sent to healthcare professionals said. Where patients do not have enough to last until the re-supply date – which differs depending on the medicine in question – GPs are being asked to contact pharmacies to find out about stocks and reach out to the patient’s specialist team for advice if a product cannot be sourced. Read full story Source: Pulse, 28 September 2023
  15. Content Article
    There are supply disruptions affecting various strengths of the following medications which are licensed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): methylphenidate (Equasym® XL) capsules, methylphenidate (Xaggitin XL® , Concerta XL® , Xenidate XL® ) prolonged-release tablets, lisdexamfetamine (Elvanse® ) capsules, and guanfacine (Intuniv® ) prolonged-release tablets. This is a safety critical and complex National Patient Safety Alert. Implementation should be co-ordinated by an executive lead (or equivalent role in organisations without executive boards) and supported by clinical leaders in pharmacy, community pharmacy, GP practices, mental health services and those working in the health and justice sector.
  16. News Article
    Adults across an integrated care system area are facing ‘unacceptable’ 10-year waits for an NHS assessment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, the longest known wait for such services in England. Herefordshire and Worcestershire integrated care board has warned in board papers of “exceptionally high waiting times for ADHD assessment and treatment for Worcestershire patients (10 years+), with workforce challenges and service fragility compromising service delivery”. HSJ understands the long waits for ADHD diagnosis, which is a national problem, is predominately affecting adults with approximately 2,000 people on Herefordshire and Worcestershire’s ADHD list alone. Local provider Herefordshire and Worcestershire Health and Care Trust also warned on its website that its paediatric services were also “experiencing unprecedented demand”. Read full story (paywalled) Source: HSJ, 19 July 2023
  17. News Article
    Campaigners are planning to launch legal action after NHS chiefs in North Yorkshire placed limits on which adults can get referrals for autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments. North Yorkshire and York Health and Care Partnerships introduced a pilot programme in March in which adults seeking an NHS assessment for autism or ADHD are triaged via an online screening tool. NHS chiefs say this screening process prioritises those with the most severe needs, rather than processing referrals in chronological order. These priority needs reportedly include the patient being at risk of immediate self-harm or harming others, at risk of being unable to have lifesaving hospital treatment or care placement, or an imminent risk of family court decisions being determined on diagnosis. Those who do not meet the criteria are given guidance and signposted to other support networks. But campaigners say that in practise that means that most people cannot get a referral for an assessment – GPs can no longer make referrals themselves. Read full story Source: The Big Issue, 19 July 2023 Related reading on the hub: Long waits for ADHD diagnosis and treatment are a patient safety issue
  18. News Article
    Children with suspected ADHD and autism are waiting as long as seven years for treatment on the NHS, as the health service struggles to manage a surge in demand during a crisis in child mental health. Experts said “inhumane” waits are putting a generation of neurodiverse children at risk of mental illness as they are “pushed to the back of a very long queue” for children and adolescent mental health services (Camhs). UK children with suspected neurodevelopmental conditions faced an average waiting time of one year and four months for an initial screening in 2022, more than three times longer than the average wait for all Camhs services, according to research carried out by the House magazine and shared with the Guardian. Half of all trusts responding to a freedom of information request had an average wait of at least a year, and at one-sixth of trusts it was more than two years. The NICE guidance for autism and mental health services stipulates that no one should wait longer than 13 weeks between being referred and first being seen. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 17 July 2023 Related reading on the hub: Long waits for ADHD diagnosis and treatment are a patient safety issue
  19. News Article
    An 18-year-old woman suffering a mental health crisis was forced to wait eight-and-a-half days in A&E before getting a bed in a psychiatric hospital – believed to be the longest such wait seen in the NHS. Louise (not her real name) had to be looked after by the police and security guards and sleep in a chair and on a mattress of the floor in the A&E at St Helier hospital in Sutton, south London, because no bed was available in a mental health facility. She became increasingly “dejected, despairing and desperate” as her ordeal continued and, her mental health worsening while she waited, self-harmed by banging her head off a wall. She absconded twice because she did not know when she would finally start inpatient treatment. Louise arrived at St Helier on the evening of Thursday 16 June and did not get a bed in an NHS psychiatric unit until the early hours of Saturday 25 June, more than eight days later. She was diagnosed last year with emotionally unstable personality disorder and ADHD. The mental health charity Mind said it believed it to be the longest wait in A&E ever endured by someone experiencing a mental health crisis, and described it as “unacceptable, disgraceful and dangerous”. It called for urgent action to tackle the inadequacy of NHS mental health provision and bed numbers. “An eight-and-a-half day wait in A&E for a mental health bed is both unacceptable and disgraceful. Mind has never heard of a patient in crisis waiting this long to receive the care they need, and serious questions need to be raised as to how anyone – let alone an 18-year-old – was left to suffer for so long without the care she needs,” said Rheian Davies, the head of Mind’s legal unit. “This is dangerous for staff, who are not trained to give the acute care the patient needs, and dangerous for the patient, who needs that care immediately – not over a week later." Read full story Source: The Guardian, 4 July 2022
  20. News Article
    Erik, a 26-year-old Seattle grocery clerk, who also has attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), has been unable to get his medications filled for months now – and he’s worried he’ll lose the first full-time job he’s ever had. For people like Erik, ADHD medication is a prerequisite for basic functioning – and over the last year it’s become dramatically harder for patients like them to access care. Last October, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a shortage of Adderall, one of the most common stimulant medications for ADHD. In recent months, patients have reported problems filling nearly every type of ADHD medication. What’s stranger is that no one seems to know why. Is it some kind of supply chain issue? A pandemic-era surge in demand? A government crackdown? Official explanations have offered little clarity. The FDA’s announcement mentioned “intermittent manufacturing delays” at Teva, the producer of the branded version of Adderall, but few other details. The American Society of Health Pharmacists reports shortages of multiple ADHD drugs but says manufacturers have given no explanation. The situation has left patients in turmoil. Read full story Source: The Guardian, 30 January 2023
  21. News Article
    ADHD awareness hassoared among women in the UK in the past year, but waiting times and the dearth of clinical awareness are leaving people awaiting diagnosis in a perilous position, leading experts have warned. Dr Max Davie, a consultant paediatrician and co-founder of ADHD UK, said that people talking openly about their diagnoses – including a number of high-profile celebreties – had led to more people seeking referrals for the condition. However, while awareness is increasing many trusts and private providers have shut waiting lists because of demand. “I think it’s probably as big a year as we’ve ever had. We are seeing a lot more people from all walks of life seeking a diagnosis later in life, particularly women,” Dr Davie said. “At the same time waiting lists have gone through the roof. NHS services have been swamped for a while and private providers are also closing their lists – there are wildly inadequate services for ADHD diagnosis, particularly for adults.” Dr Tony Lloyd, the chief executive of the ADHD foundation, said its own figures suggested a 400% increase in the number of adults seeking a diagnosis since 2020, adding that prescription volumes did not take account of those who do not use medication. “ADHD remains significantly under-diagnosed and under-treated in the UK – at great cost to public services and to the individual and the workforce,” he said. "Stigma around the condition, which the charity says affects one in 20 people in the UK, resulted in negative outcomes for individuals and high costs to the economy. Dismissing ADHD as a cultural construct and undeserving drain on finite NHS resources only adds to the enduring stigma and stereotyping of those with ADHD,” Read full story Source: The Guardian, 13 January 2023
  22. News Article
    Patients are being offered powerful drugs and told they have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) after unreliable online assessments, a BBC investigation has discovered. Three private clinics diagnosed an undercover reporter via video calls. But a more detailed, in-person NHS assessment showed he didn't have the condition. Panorama spoke to dozens of patients and whistleblowers after receiving tip-offs about rushed and poor-quality assessments at some private clinics, including Harley Psychiatrists, ADHD Direct and ADHD 360. The investigation found that: Clinics carried out only limited mental health assessments of patients. Powerful drugs were prescribed for long-term use, without advice on possible serious side effects or proper consideration of patients' medical history. Patients posting negative reviews were threatened with legal action. The NHS is paying for thousands of patients to go to private clinics for assessments. Commenting on Panorama's findings, Dr Mike Smith - an NHS consultant psychiatrist - said he was seriously concerned about the number of people who might "potentially have received an incorrect diagnosis and been started on medications inappropriately". "The scale is massive." Read full story Source: BBC News,
  23. Content Article
    A new study from Praharaj and Stanciu provides guidance for clinicians discussing the risks of ADHD medications with their pregnant patients.
  24. Content Article
    Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a condition that affects people's behaviour. It has a wide range of symptoms and can affect both children and adults—people with ADHD may find it hard to focus on or complete tasks, feel restless or impatient, experience impulsiveness and find it hard to organise their time and their things.[1] ADHD can have devastating mental health implications and research studies have linked ADHD to increased suicide and mortality rates. This means that being unable to access effective treatment can be a patient safety risk for people with ADHD. In this blog, Lotty Tizzard, Patient Safety Learning’s Content and Engagement Manager, explores the state of ADHD diagnosis and treatment in the UK. She looks at why many are concerned about the waiting times for adults and children seeking an ADHD assessment and speaks to Elsa*, who was diagnosed with ADHD in her 30s, about her experiences. *Name changed
  25. News Article
    Gender bias is leaving many women with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder undiagnosed, leading psychologists are warning. The prevailing stereotype ADHD affects only "naughty boys" means at least tens of thousands in the UK, it is estimated, are unaware they have the condition and not receiving the help they need. "I used to tell doctors and therapists all the time, 'You've got to make this constant noise in my head stop. I can't think. I can't sleep. I can't get any peace,' but this was always dismissed as anxiety or women's problems," Hester says. Diagnosed with depression at 16, she spent much of her 20s unsuccessfully battling to be referred to a psychiatrist. And she constantly felt she was not reaching her true potential. Hester was finally diagnosed with ADHD in 2015, aged 34, and only, she says, because her husband had discovered he had the condition, a year earlier. His diagnosis took 12 months. "At no point did anyone say to Chris, 'This sounds like anxiety,' or 'Have some tablets,'" Hester says. "He was taken seriously." "Whereas with me, I was on the doctor's radar from the age of 16. "Bluntly, it took so long for me to be diagnosed because I'm a woman." Read full story Source: BBC News, 26 October 2021
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