50 signatures reached
To: The Secretary of State for Health and Social care and Secretary of State for Education
Improve ADHD support now.
The Secretary of State for Health and Social care must:
Update NICE guidelines so that ADHD referrals are actioned within 3 months in line with other neurodevelopmental conditions to speed up vital access to treatment.
Make the diagnostic pathway consistent across the UK to prevent unfair discrepancies and acknowledge diagnoses provided by educational psychologists.
End years of misdiagnoses by providing quality training to healthcare professionals, specifically for GPs and mental healthcare professionals. Training should specifically cover intersectionality and traits for people assigned female at birth (AFAB) as these are the most overlooked.
Fund and invest in quality post-diagnostic treatment that covers both access to medication and provision of counselling and coaching.
The Secretary of State for Education must:
Spot and support people with ADHD sooner by commuting to train every teacher in what ADHD is, what to look out for and how to support it.
Why is this important?
It’s time to unite and stand in solidarity for the estimated 2.4 million people with ADHD, diagnosed, waiting for a diagnosis or struggling and misdiagnosed. There is a particular disparity for people who are assigned female at birth (AFAB).
Despite a clear need for it, only 10-20% of people with ADHD receive any treatment. This exacerbated by the fact the rate of misdiagnosis is so high that in the UK it is thought that the average person with ADHD will experience 3 to 4 misdiagnoses before they are diagnosed with ADHD. ADHD is not a mental health condition but people with ADHD are much more likely to develop poor mental health as a result.
This can be prevented with timely diagnosis and the right support. The system is broken and in order for change to happen the actions below must be taken.
- Reduce waiting times
- Make the diagnostic process consistent
- Provide quality support and training to professionals
- Invest in post diagnostic treatment
Reduce waiting times: A 2020 BBC FOI found people waiting over 5 years for their diagnosis. This is horrific and prevents access to vital support. Similar to the autistic diagnostic process, NICE guidelines must be updated so referrals are actioned within 3 months of being received.
Make the diagnostic process consistent: There is no consistent diagnostic process across the UK. Some people are waiting months to have a 1-2 hour conversation with a psychiatrist to receive their diagnosis (alongside extensive paperwork). Others have to have up to 4 meetings spaced out over months, on top of years+ of waiting before receiving their diagnosis. This discrepancy is unacceptable and puts people through unnecessary hoops in an already broken system. A consistent diagnostic process should be rolled out across the UK.
Some people gain a diagnosis through educational psychologists and still have to go through the whole process again with the NHS. Weighting should be given to the educational psychologist diagnosis to provide quicker access to support.
Provide quality support and training to professionals : The rate of misdiagnosis is so high that in the UK it is thought that the average person with ADHD will experience 3 to 4 misdiagnoses before they are diagnosed with ADHD.
Too many people don’t realise they have ADHD until well into adulthood. Struggling through school, employment and poor mental health. This can be prevented if ADHD is recognised and supported sooner.
Education professionals play a key role in this and they should be equipped with access to high quality training in this area. Training should also specifically cover intersectionality and the traits for those AFAB specifically as too often these are missed. The Government must commit to train every teacher in what ADHD is, what to look out for and how to support it.
It is highly common for adult ADHD to be interpreted simply as anxiety or depression, particularly when ADHD impacts mental health.
The Government should commit to developing and rolling out high quality training to all GPs
and mental health professionals so they are equipped with the tools to spot these traits and action timely referrals.
Invest in post diagnostic treatment: There should be a clear diagnostic pathway resulting in post-diagnostic support in both medication and specific counselling/coaching. Again there is no consistency. At present, the NHS will only fund either support to access medication OR a one off counselling session. People with ADHD should have access to both and should not be expected to have to self-fund desperately needed support. The Government must commit to the investment and provision of both medication and coaching to be provided as post-diagnostic support to properly enable someone with ADHD to thrive.
Share this petition and your story with your friends and families. Let’s spread the word and make some noise.
References
https://adhduk.co.uk/about-adhd/
https://adhdaware.org.uk/what-is-adhd/adhd-and-mental-health/
