ADHD meds and moving county

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Anybody know where you find info about this as I’m struggling. It seems to be really unclear and I don’t get why.

Son has an NHS diagnosis but his GP refused shared care so the NHS dept that diagnosed him send it to the pharmacy every month. He is on the list for psychotherapy with them which he wants
to do.

Has moved to uni and is terrified of signing on to a GP as doesn’t want to lose his meds.

How does he get his meds in a different county if GPs don’t do shared care? Can he get a new gp in his uni county but stay on with his adhd dep in his home county?

Not specific to ADHD but I think a lot of people stay signed on at home, get meds via home delivery and use walk in centres for any health needs at uni? Might be a possibility?

He needs a GP at uni unfortunately.

It varies. Some students transfer doctors so they become registered with the gp in the uni town. They may need to start from scratch in the town.

Other students stay with their home gp. Regarding prescriptions, prescriptions can be sent electronically (EPS) to any pharmacy. Your son can nominate a pharmacy in the uni town for them to be sent to.

The only possible problem is that the gp may not want to care for someone lives away from home. Usually three months is the cut off point - ie. If you move away/go on holiday for more than three months, the gp can de -register you.

You can’t be registered at two surgeries. You can become a temporary patient elsewhere, but that’s usually for short term treatment . Eg, become ill when on holiday.

His GP doesn’t anything have anything to do with his meds. The nhs diagnosis dept sends it to the pharmacy. What has he got to start all over again? He has an nhs diagnosis and an nhs prescription following nhs titration.

Honestly dont get why it’s so difficult, disjointed and unclear.😫

Psych clinic that prescribes needs to enable electronic prescribing and then can send to pharmacy near uni.

Surely you asked the nhs dept who currently write the script?

But will they,if they know he’s in a different county?

His psych didn’t know when he asked hyperthetically and he’s scared about them knowing in case they stop prescribing. He is struggling to get hold of the equivalent where he is.

equivalent department

My diabetic son just stayed on with the gp and pharmacy here. His hospital apts were still at this hospital. Uni terms are not all year so certainly for the first year I would keep him home based with meds and he just has to come home more often.

He definitely needs to move GP as he needs mental health services there.

Could you still get them delivered to your home address and post them to him? A bit of a faff but at least you won't be changing arrangements with the clinic.

This arrangement shouldn't prevent him from signing onto a GP at Uni.

Yes, I can send a script to anywhere in England from my desk as a London GP. Trickier if Wales/Scotland

Sorry that should say 'you post them to him'.

Also you'd need to pay for registered mail which isn't cheap.

But if they know he’s registered in a different county wont they say hang on we’re not paying. Sign on to the county dept where you are?

Or will the adhd dept not look where his gp is?

You need to speak to the department to see if they’re happy to send his prescriptions to the uni pharmacy, or not, and whether they’d prefer him to stay registered with the home gp, or happy for him to register with the uni equivalent. Also, ask whether they’d prefer can transfer services to the uni n my mental health equivalent.

You’ve also got to think about what happens during the long summer holidays.

I think you or dc need to bite the billet and have the conversation as to what’s best going forward. Speak to the consultant , or send an email to the med sec with these questions. Everyone can suggest different things, but we’re all second guessing on your situation. Get the facts, and then you can act to ensure dc is adequately covered.

Why the hell wont your NHS GP accept shared care with the NHS assessors. This makes me so angry.

maybe contact GPs in the uni town or the uni campus if they have an in-campus Gp and ask if they will accept shared care. Bear in mind SO many students will be on adhd meds that a surgery in a uni town will likely be easy to deal with

It makes me angry too, but it remains the case that most gps won't do shared care agreements for ADHD meds at the moment and it's highly likely to become a minefield or a disaster to change your current arrangements - they are saying no to people every day. I think it's highly likely to become tricky for them to do as soon as your registered GP changes - they are probably not commissioned to cover areas outside their patch.

I know so I don’t know what to do as his MH will plunge even lower if he can’t get them. He needs
to change to a GP there to access CMHT there.

I would talk to them - university is a bit of a special case and he won't be the first.

Perhaps not ideal but has he thought of going to a university close to home so that he remains at home, travels to lectures and can access health care without a gap. Other posts have already pointed out there are long holidays at uni, what happens then? I suppose he could stay in his accommodation

There's the psychotherapy to factor in too and whether the cmht referral will transpire or lead to anything (and whether being on a waiting list elsewhere will affect this).
I wonder if you might get some helpful and knowledgeable perspectives from uni parents on the WIWIKAU Facebook group if you made an anonymous post?

What is their rationale for not agreeing to shared care? Especially when the assessment was done within the NHS?

Shared care is generally not resourced for GPs and isn't part of our core contract - also many NHS ADHD clinics don't offer proper shared care (which involves them seeing the patient once a year), instead they discharge and insist on a new referral, often on a lengthy form, for any review - which isn't safe.

So to sum up, it's a combination of safety and resourcing issues which make some GPs decline shared care for ADHD.