The NHS is failing patients with ADHD | Letters

Dr Vicky Cleak says the health service must improve access to effective treatment, while Dr Deborah White says the blame doesn’t lie with GPs

I am a consultant psychiatrist who was trained by, and worked in, the NHS, most recently as a liaison psychiatrist in a general hospital. I saw three young men who had made impulsive suicidal attempts where the underlying cause was attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). I was unable to treat them with effective, evidence-based treatment because the psychiatrists in the mental health trust and GP practices locally would not take over the prescribing of stimulant medication. The service was not commissioned locally and the medication was not on the “allowed” formulary.

There seem to be several reasons why this is the case, including an erosion of senior doctors’ autonomy, a lack of training among doctors, persistent views that ADHD is not “real”, worries that taking it on would overwhelm an already unmanageable workload, and now a burgeoning private sector with financial interests in the NHS not treating it.

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