GPs are not able to make a diagnosis of ADHD and a referral is needed to an ADHD specialist. ADHD may be associated with other mental health issues, and our GPs are able to support you with this.

Unfortunately, there is currently a long waiting list for NHS ADHD referrals. In York and North Yorkshire, the ambition is for timely adult ADHD and autism diagnoses and quicker support for everyone seeking health and care advice for their needs before and after assessment. To achieve this an online neurodiversity screening tool is used (the North Yorkshire and York Platform for Adult Autism and ADHD Referrals, often referred to as the Do It Profiler). If you request an appointment with us for possible ADHD we will send you a link for you to access this platform and complete the screening tool. This will then be assessed in terms of urgency, by the specialist team and you will be offered an assessment or appropriate support.

If an ADHD diagnosis is subsequently made by the specialist, they may choose to offer medications to help manage the symptoms, as well as provide other support. These medications are potentially dangerous and therefore require careful monitoring. The specialist is responsible for starting the medications, making any dose adjustments and arranging a yearly review which includes a physical assessment. The GP can prescribe medications as advised by the specialist, but they cannot adjust the dose and are only able to prescribe these medications if the patient has an in-date annual review with the specialist. If this yearly review is not completed, the GP will have to stop prescribing the medication. You will also require a 6 monthly heart rate and blood pressure check, which can be done at the practice, if not done by the specialist.

You can choose to be referred to a private provider, but should you choose to follow this route and a diagnosis is made, the GP will not be in a position to prescribe ADHD medication or arrange monitoring, as our policy is not to enter into ‘shared-care’ arrangements with private providers. If you wished to stay with the private provider we suggest you would need to check on the costs of ongoing treatment including prescribing and yearly reviews. However we can arrange to transfer your care to the local NHS provider (the Retreat), in which case we can take over prescribing and monitoring with oversight and some reviews with the Retreat.

For more information on ADHD:

https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/