Psychiatry UK has paused referrals

[Sugarcoatt]

NHS waiting lists for autism assessment are currently 4-5 years across most of the country. It’s debilitating to have to wait that long for diagnosis and support. So people have increasingly figured out (or been advised on forums like this) that they can request Right to Choose and ask to be referred to Psychiatry UK, which has a waiting list of more like 6-8 months.

Now Psychiatry UK have said they too are overwhelmed, and they have closed their books to any further referrals.

AIBU to think this is a crisis? The NHS needs to urgently invest in more capacity to provide assessments and shorten the waiting list. People are going to end up seriously damaged or even dead because they can’t get diagnosis and support for their condition.

It absolutely is a crisis. I went through Right to Choose (waited just over a year for assessment) and Psychiatry UK were bloody awesome.

In the meantime I would suggest petitioning employers (if you have the sort who have good benefits packages) to add ADHD to their list of covered conditions. My employer added it from an assessment perspective, and folks are now petitioning to add medication.

When I first went on the waiting list for asd I was told 9-12 months. 12 months ago after waiting for 15 months I was told I had 18 months to wait for asd assessment I just contacted them again for an update on how long to wait and was told another 18 months so I am no further along after nearly 3 years. I don't think I will ever get to the top of the list. I was going to try the right to choose but now that's stopped. At the same time I get treated like lazy scum because I struggle to find and keep employment. I hate my life.

The same happened to me. I was told 18 months. But 18 months later I asked if I was near the top of the waiting list and was told it would be another 3 years. At that point I requested RTC and was told it would be 6 months - now it’s 9 months - then they stopped any further referrals at all.

RTC is a lifeline for those who are struggling to cope and are unable to access support until they get a diagnosis. A 4-6 year wait is insane, people will end up hurting themselves due to lack of support. Now there is no way to avoid that wait. The NHS needs to pull its finger out and look at what is causing this huge demand and how they can cope with it.

I don't have a solution.

YANBU and it sucks.

Absolutely is a crisis. The whole of the NHS is in a crisis, and MH services are one of the worst victims of the systemic underfunding and overloading over the past 15 years. We need a government that cares about the NHS and starts funnelling more resources back to where they have previously been stripped away. As great as Right to Choose is, relying on private providers is not a long term solution, and I'm guessing it's costing the NHS much more than it would to be providing the service in-house, but they just don't have capacity.

I'm currently on the PUK list for ADHD assessment, was referred in April when my GP said the wait on NHS is 3 years. I'm sure it's now longer.