Has anyone paid to go private for ADHD diagnosis?

[LoganRoy]

Looking for recommendations thank you.

Thanks for replying piano. That must be frustrating for you and the patient.

Google which is your local health trusts adhd clinic- ie who you would see for a diagnosis under the nhs. Then google that person and 'private clinic'.

That sounds like a good idea.

We used a local place in Brighton.

So perhaps there's a place near you.

I found that the 'chain' ones were far more expensive.

Is it for you or a child? It it's for a child make sure you're on the CAMHS waiting list still.

We quickly learned that a private diagnoses does absolutely fuck all to help.

Senior schools don't care, and the clinic doesn't actually provide any support.
They can prescribe medication.
We couldn't use that due to the comorbidity of tics.

My daughter was privately diagnosed in NI, then referred in to NHS system and gets her prescriptions from the consultant who she sees every three months. Whole process took a couple of years. We could have had medication quicker but decided to wait until seen by NHS clinic.

Oh and the psychiatrist that saw us, whilst sound and thorough in her assessment, told us within the first 5 minutes of meeting that she didn't believe in Covid.

She doesn't work there now....

HurryUp that’s, erm, reassuring...!

@mallowvalley Sorry for delay. I looked into it recently for a friend. Your GP should get you to fill in a questionnaire and then if you meet criteria refer you to CMHT. But in Edinburgh most have long waits. The alternative is going private - I was told of two psychiatrists who do assessments – Dr John Ferguson at Spire Healthcare and also the Edinburgh Practice with Dr Zia Nadeem. Both are experienced consultant psychiatrists and work in NHS Lothian as well. I was told that if you get a private diagnosis and are prescribed medication then you follow-up until the medicine is stabilised and so have to pay for this or wait for NHS.

@SparklingLime

Psychiatry UK are currently overwhelmed and have an approx 16 week wait between diagnosis and start of medication titration. I don’t know where to go.

This wasn’t the case for me (dx with PUK at the beginning of this month). My original appt was for Feb next year, but I kept an eye on the booking list and grabbed a cancellation slot when one came up. Titration started within a week of diagnosis. They’ve been wonderful so far- really responsive, engaged and supportive.

Can anyone share the cost of their private prescriptions and the meds they are taking please?

@Burnshersmurfs how do you see the booking list??

[quote BathwaterBaby]@Burnshersmurfs how do you see the booking list??[/quote]
booking.psychiatry-uk.com/
Suggest phoning at 8 in the morning when they open- some of the slots aren’t given out, but I could see a lot of appointments coming up.

(PS- you can’t book a slot until you’ve already been given an appt, in case that wasn’t clear!)

Can anyone explain shared care for me please?
Was diagnosed and referred by GP over 2.5 years ago and still not seen a consultant. Thank you

My son was diagnosed in Leicester at the Nuffield Health private hospital. He saw a very experienced consultant there who diagnosed him over 4 appointments, (aged 15) and prescribed his meds. After 2 months this was transferred to my local GP surgery and we then got them on the NHS monthly.

Son no longer takes the meds, but they were invaluable to get him through GCSEs. He uses his ADHD and especially his hyperfocus to his advantage now and although his room is a tip, he loses his wallet and phone all the time, is always late etc, he says he would NOT choose to get rid of it if he could.

A few weeks ago he took one small dose of his meds (we still have them in our safe) to do his Theory Test and said on the way back how dull it must be to be "normal" and have your brain just think one thing at a time. :-)

Interestingly, the consultant at his diagnosis asked him, "which of your parents was in trouble at school", and he said "Mum". After a chat about my history, the consultant said the likelihood of me having undiagnosed ADHD was extremely high as well, and it was a lightbulb moment for me!

www.adhdconsultancy.co.uk/ has been good with me so far, although I haven't had my proper assessment yet (they have a waiting list so it's not until October). My GP recommended I use them and apparently they're good at liaising with NHS to get meds etc sorted, although I don't know a lot about that side as I'm going for a combined autism and adhd assessment but likely only have autism

@pianolessons1

GP here, for various reasons we usually can't safely prescribe unless there is an NHS consultant involved. Some of the private providers are known among the profession as 'diagnosis factories' churning out diagnoses, not always by people qualified to make them. So just be careful that you check the credentials of the person and the organisation.

I understand what you’re saying in general terms, but why would private doctors give a diagnosis that isn’t accurate?

Surely if someone pays for professional advice, the consultant still should honour their professional code of conduct?

I’m sure it happens, but I wonder why? What do they get out of diagnosing a patient with a condition for the sake of it?

Surely if someone pays a one off fee to be assessed for say ADHD then once that fee is paid (usually before the assessment) what would the motive be for the doctor to diagnose regardless? Surely it can’t be for financial gain as they’ve already been paid before the assessment….

Discrediting ADHD diagnoses as well as parents or adults with the condition is just part of the discrimination neurodivergent people face.
If you had a private diagnosis of anything else, heart condition, asthma, anything nobody would refuse to recognise it.
My DC was diagnosed on NHS and their diagnosis also wasn't believed (by school). Can't win.

@con12

Can anyone explain shared care for me please? Was diagnosed and referred by GP over 2.5 years ago and still not seen a consultant. Thank you

A consultant initially prescribes medication, GP signs an agreement to share care which means they agree to prescribe and monitor and if they have concerns they refer back to consultant as they aren't trained to prescribe without consultant support. Consultant needs to see you regularly, every 6 months or year (I forget which).

@AshGirl

Can anyone share the cost of their private prescriptions and the meds they are taking please?

I was taking Elvanse, £30 to get a prescription written about £90 to buy it.

Thanks a lot for explaining that. Is this an NHS consultant or private one? I’m wondering if there is any way to speed up seeing an NHS consultant (we have waited 3 years in November since being referred by GP). Thanks

@con12

Thanks a lot for explaining that. Is this an NHS consultant or private one? I’m wondering if there is any way to speed up seeing an NHS consultant (we have waited 3 years in November since being referred by GP). Thanks

Make a complaint to you local trust about the waiting list. Maybe you weren't actually referred, or the referral is lost. Ask your gP for s copy of the referral letter.

In our area it is a 3 year waiting list for adult ADHD. A formal complaint has been made. Thanks a lot for the advice.

My consultant is private. I couldn't even get a referral to NHS for adhd.

What is it about ADHD that makes professionals so resistant to refer or diagnose? Why can't it get the same waiting times and standard of treatment as every other MH condition?

@peppermintbiscuit

Discrediting ADHD diagnoses as well as parents or adults with the condition is just part of the discrimination neurodivergent people face. If you had a private diagnosis of anything else, heart condition, asthma, anything nobody would refuse to recognise it. My DC was diagnosed on NHS and their diagnosis also wasn't believed (by school). Can't win.

This ^ there is so much prejudice out there, it's unbelievable! wouldn't doctors or whoever else makes the diagnosis lose their accreditation if they just went round telling everyone who wanted a diagnosis that they did have ADHD? Don't they have to write up reports explaining their reasoning? (This is what my children got, when they were diagnosed on the NHS. These were very detailed reports!) Presumably there are other people who need to prove that they don't have adhd. How would that work if this scenario were the case

Thanks for sharing your experiences everyone. I hope it’s useful for others although it’s so frustrating at the same time.