A radical rethink of how neurodiversity is treated is needed for the NHS to keep up, a think tank warns.

cross-posted from: https://feddit.uk/post/10089820

The extraordinary rise in demand for autism assessments and ADHD treatments in England has overtaken the NHS’s capacity to meet it, a think tank says.

Since 2019, there has been a five-fold rise in people waiting to see an autism specialist and a 51% increase in prescriptions for ADHD medication, according to the Nuffield Trust.

Growing backlogs and longer waiting times are negatively impacting people’s daily lives, it warned.

It said a “radical rethink” was needed.

…

One out of every 100 people is on the autistic spectrum, it is estimated, while 2.6 million people in the UK have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) .

The Nuffield Trust said 24% of patients referred for ADHD in England were having to wait one to two years for an assessment.

On top of this, thousands of people with ADHD have been unable to get prescribed medication amid a major supply shortage. This was announced in September due to “manufacturing issues and an increased global demand”.

Meanwhile,172,000 adults and children are on a waiting list for an autism assessment - the highest recorded figure - according to NHS data analysed by the think tank.

Between October and December 2023, the median time spent on a waiting list after an autism referral rose to over nine months, compared with four months in the same period in 2019.

  • @cynar
    4•8 months ago

    I’ve been through the system (adult ADHD), and helped someone else through it more recently. The psychiatrist was very apologetic about the massive delay (3 years. We were relieved, rather than complaining). It came up that their referrals had massively increased. At one point they had as many in 1 week as they had in an entire year, pre COVID. The staffing and resources available hadn’t changed at all.

    The NHS teams are doing an amazing job. Their support (aka government) is letting them down badly.