Accessing medication ADHD

[nutleywombat]

Hi,
Hope someone had some words of wisdom for me about what to do next.

We recently paid for a private ADHD assessment for my DS as the wait in our area was 3 years. He was diagnosed with it (he also has ASD). He is moving up to Secondary school in Sept and finds coping at school hard. In process of draft for EHCP. We wanted to explore medication for him to help him cope more at school. Spoke to GP and he has said that they won't see him or prescribe medication due to him having a private diagnosis. The only reason we went for that was that we couldn't wait 3 years so found the money to pay for it. We can't afford to then continue privately funding his care/medication forever, nor should we have to.

I don't know what to do now or who to turn to for help. So frustrating that at the core of this is an 11 year old who is struggling and needs help and support.

What can I do?

Our GP had nothing to do with ADHD medication. It was the paediatrician or psychiatrist where he was diagnosed at CAHMS.

We have just gone down the private route and the psychiatrist recommended medication. We did have to pay for a consultation and for the meds, but as soon as she's stable we are hoping to go for a shared care agreement with the GP, in that they will monitor and prescribe the meds. Any reviews etc will have to stay with the private Dr. From what I understand this is standard procedure, the GP's won't get involved until the medication is stable

Many GPs won’t take on shared care after private diagnosis.

We have just been told that our GP practice won't enter into a shared care arrangement when the diagnosis was obtained privately. Our local CAMHS (Coventry and Warwickshire) apparently has the longest waiting list of any in England and we were desperate - our 14yr old was truanting and staying out all night, taking cannabis and getting in trouble with the police. I find this policy very cruel as it suggests that parents must wait for a CAHMS assessment even if this means waiting up to four years whilst one's child effectively destroys his life and the life of his family. Does anyone have any advice on challenging the GP?

Was the private clinic one who used NHS CAMHS clinicians? My daughter was assessed privately but the psychiatrist works for the NHS too and is a member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists. Her GP took over shared care as soon as she was stable on the meds. We were warned about using clinics who weren't recognised by CAMHS. If not that may be the issue but it's worth asking why, and the surgery should be upfront with you. I'm sorry you're having this battle on top of everything else

Good questions. The psych certainly does NHS work but a look at her web site it does not look as if they accept NHS referrals. I am going to go back and ask for the policy document and then write and ask if they will reconsider at some point in the future given that my son may need to be on meds for the next 70yrs+
And, thank you for your kind words.

You’ve asked what you can do so that’s the question i’ll answer (though other good tips here i see around getting the nhs to accept the diagnosis). Go back to the clinic that gave the diagnosis and get the doctor to prescribe meds. Even if they make you do a consultation it will be a fraction of the price of the full diagnosis. Once your son is stable the psych can request a shared care agreement from the gp. Gp can refuse but cross that bridge when you get to it