{"id":273622,"date":"2026-01-31T11:26:14","date_gmt":"2026-01-31T11:26:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/273622\/"},"modified":"2026-01-31T11:26:14","modified_gmt":"2026-01-31T11:26:14","slug":"middle-classes-drive-surge-in-adhd-prescriptions-by-using-private-clinics-to-bypass-10-year-nhs-queues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/273622\/","title":{"rendered":"Middle classes drive surge in ADHD prescriptions by using private clinics to bypass 10-year NHS queues"},"content":{"rendered":"

The middle-classes have driven a surge in ADHD<\/a> prescriptions after turning to private clinics for a diagnosis amid waits of up to ten years on the NHS<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The number of people from wealthier backgrounds prescribed stimulants to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has surged five-fold over the past decade, NHS data shows.<\/p>\n

Experts say \u2018sharp-elbowed\u2019 Britons are able to jump long queues by getting a diagnosis at a private clinic, then asking their NHS GP to continue prescribing the drugs.<\/p>\n

One of the biggest increases has been among middle-aged women, with some going for their own ADHD assessment after seeing their children secure a diagnosis and then researching symptoms themselves.<\/p>\n

About 700,000 people in England are waiting for an ADHD assessment, with waiting times of up to ten years on the NHS.<\/p>\n

However, under the Right to Choose scheme, patients facing long waits can ask to be assessed at private clinics and get the NHS to pay the bill.<\/p>\n

Half of NHS ADHD assessments are now carried out in the private sector.<\/p>\n

The NHS is estimated to have spent \u00a3128million on private ADHD companies last year, up from \u00a336million two years earlier, according to the Centre for Health and the Public Interest.<\/p>\n

\"Thea <\/p>\n

Thea Stein, chief executive the Nuffield Trust think tank, said more patients are turning to the private sector for ADHD care due to growing NHS waiting lists<\/p>\n

Alternatively, patients can pay around \u00a31,000 for the assessments themselves and then ask their NHS GP to take over the prescribing.<\/p>\n

NHS data shows around 820,000 people in England have had a diagnosis of ADHD, which is characterised by restlessness, distractibility and forgetfulness.<\/p>\n

Of these, 297,000 are taking medication to treat it, up from 81,000 ten years ago.<\/p>\n

Health secretary Wes Streeting has ordered a national review of the surge in demand for ADHD services, which will examine whether the condition is being overdiagnosed.<\/p>\n

Thea Stein, chief executive the Nuffield Trust think tank, told The Times: \u2018As waiting lists have grown, more people are looking to the private sector for their diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u2018If you go privately, and then take your private diagnosis into the NHS, you\u2019re catapulting yourself up the waiting list.<\/p>\n

\u2018People are also using the Right to Choose to get their diagnosis.<\/p>\n

\u2018We know from many, many other areas of healthcare policy, that if you are a bit more sharp-elbowed you can use that better.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"Dr <\/p>\n

Dr Mukesh Kripalani, lead adult consultant psychiatrist at the ADHD Centre, said ADHD symptoms become more evident in women when they reach the menopause<\/p>\n

Ms Stein added: \u2018There is a huge growth in adults coming forward and wanting to explore whether they have ADHD, often on the back of their children being diagnosed.\u2019<\/p>\n

The biggest increase in prescriptions over the past decade has been among women, amid rising awareness that is not just a condition affecting young boys.<\/p>\n

Ten years ago, less than a quarter of ADHD patients were female, but the proportion is now four in ten.<\/p>\n

Among people in their forties and fifties, more women than men take ADHD medication.<\/p>\n

Dr Mukesh Kripalani, lead adult consultant psychiatrist at the ADHD Centre, said: \u2018When women hit menopause, that\u2019s when quite a few symptoms of ADHD become prevalent.<\/p>\n

\u2018You might see boys bouncing off the walls, whereas women tend to internalise those symptoms.\u2019<\/p>\n

NHS prescription data, which divides patients into five groups based on deprivation, also shows more ADHD patients are coming from wealthier backgrounds.<\/p>\n

Ten years ago there were nearly twice as many ADHD patients from the most deprived areas, compared with the least deprived.<\/p>\n

But now there is almost parity between the two groups.<\/p>\n

Local GP practices can decide whether or not to take over managing ADHD drugs initially prescribed by specialists, in an arrangement known as a shared care agreement.<\/p>\n

But Dr Kripalani, who works for a private clinic, said \u2018a lot of GPs have started to put blanket barriers\u2019 on accepting diagnoses from private specialists.<\/p>\n

Healthwatch England, an independent statutory body that champions patients, has warned that this has left some patients with no way of getting their ADHD medication on the NHS.<\/p>\n

It can cost up to \u00a3300 a month privately.<\/p>\n

William Pett, head of policy and research at Healthwatch, said the shared care agreements were \u2018crucial for anyone who has received a private ADHD diagnosis and needs access to NHS\u2011prescribed medication and treatment\u2019.<\/p>\n

He added: \u2018We understand that GPs often refuse these agreements due to concerns about the quality of private diagnoses.<\/p>\n

\u2018Yet without them patients [risk] having wasted money on a private diagnosis and facing either years-long NHS waits or thousands of pounds in ongoing private treatment costs.\u2019<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The middle-classes have driven a surge in ADHD prescriptions after turning to private clinics for a diagnosis amid…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":273623,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[539,5040,103,397,396,61,60,12167,43,782,74244],"class_list":["post-273622","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-dailymail","tag-england","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-healthcare","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-new-york-times","tag-news","tag-nhs","tag-wes-streeting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273622","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=273622"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/273622\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/273623"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=273622"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=273622"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=273622"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}