Years to wait for ADHD diagnosis for DD18. Any advise..?

[SicklyYellow]

Dd18 is really struggling at uni.

Her doctor put her forward for a referral to the local adult MH services for ADHD, but they've spat her out, saying the queue is too long and they're not accepting anyone else.

I think we'll have to go private, but even for that there's a 2 or 3 year wait.

Can anyone offer any advice or suggestions?

Being on the list is better than not being on it.

Can you contact other areas and see if that's any better? Once she has a diagnosis she can do medication reviews with her GP, I believe.

In the meantime, get her onto How To ADHD and the reddit ADHD forums. There are useful tips even without medication.

We were told a 4 month wait list for clinical partners - it's online so not location specific (if you are in the Uk?). That was for a 17yo. Not sure if it's longer for adults.

My DD (14) got an assessment with ADHD360 very quickly (within about a fortnight of completing the initial screening online). The downside of going through a private company is that the prescription charges are astronomical but I’m praying that ADHD360 will agree to move towards shared care so we can access medication on the NHS.

I have been on the NHS waitlist for exactly 2 years this month. When I first got referred I was told the waitlist was 18 months. I figured if I'd waited 40 years, I could wait 18 months. I called about 6 weeks ago to find out what position I was on the waitlist. The woman I spoke to told me they were only just seeing patient referrals from October 2018!!!!! 🤯

So realistically the waitlist is about 4yrs long! 🥴

I've paid to go private as a result because I can't keep going on like this. I got an appointment date last week, but the next available one they had wasn't until mid / late August. So you definitely can get private appointments still that are faster than waiting for the NHS

Have a look at the Psychiatry-UK page on Right to Choose. They might be able to see her more quickly than the local MH service.

Privately you shouldn’t have to wait that long. We went about 6 weeks from referral to diagnosis privately

What area are you in? DS 21 was referred back in March/April and told waiting list was 4 years. He got a call this week saying our area are now working with Clinical Partners and he should get his assessment in August/September. This is NW

Can you 'shop around' for a private assessment. I was diagnosed with ASD last month after a year long wait for a private assessment. I would have thought ADHD would have been quicker.

I have gone through NHS Right to Choose, while there is quite a long wait due to the popularity of it you maybe be able to find services which aren't as busy in your area through this.

I was referred in Feb to Phyciatry UK and I am still waiting on an appointment which will likely be in 2023 - they are working on referals that came in at the end of last year currently.

Has she contacted the Disability team at her university? Although she doesn't have a diagnosis there may be able to put some support/ adjustments in place based on how her mental health is currently being affected.

They may also be able to help her get assessed for ADHD via a different route if appropriate - a diagnostic assessment for specific learning differences. Whilst this wouldn't be a medical diagnosis so no meds could be prescribed, it would enable her to get learning adjustments and also get DSA funding for a mentor/ tutor whilst she is at uni.

Is PsychiatryUK really taking that long now? I was referred end of January thru Right to Choose, given an appointment with a doctor, asked for a different doctor as the one they'd picked was unsuitable, diagnosed end of February, and given meds almost straight away (albeit complicated by the fact I have other kinds of mental so the whole meds thing went a bit wrong). Seems to defeat the purpose a bit if it's taking years even through them!

I used my local Autism school (douchecroft) that does private patients/diagnostic.

@ClumpingBambooIsALie

Yes they've got a very long wait list. It's why I chose to go with a different private assessor rather than them because I didn't want to wait that long. The one I chose will refer to my Dr for shared care after 3 months. The wait is 3 months for my appointment

Makes perfect sense, that's a ridiculously long wait. I wonder if they're seeing their private patients any quicker.

I would ask to be re-referred on nhs. I would see if I could get seen by anyone privately, if you don't pay for a diagnosis privately but they see enough traits on first appointment, it might be enough to go get the nhs pushed harder.

@ClumpingBambooIsALie unfortunately yes, I've had some issues getting a referal due to funding and the area I am in. They were the best choice for me at the time of referal as I was quite limited with private assessors too.

Private patients are in the same que too, its all done by time of referal nhs or private.

But still a lot quicker than NHS, well for me I couldn't go directly through them at all due to no funding.

God what an utter mess. Good luck with this one.