NHS launches ‘ADHD Taskforce’ amid soaring rates of condition, with patients having to wait up to 10 YEARS for a diagnosis

A new NHS taskforce will tackle the growing burden of ADHD amid waits of up to ten years for a diagnosis, officials say.

It will bring together experts from health, education and justice to better understand the impact of the condition and improve care.

NHS England says an initial review identified issues with capacity, medication supply, a lack of reliable data and a postcode lottery in services.

Record numbers of Britons are thought to be seeking help after celebrities including model Katie Price and Love Island star Olivia Attwood shared their own ADHD ordeals.

Social media sites are also full of users telling how medication helped to calm them down, control their fidgeting and boost their concentration.

The World Health Organization defines attention deficit hyperactivity disorder as being a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that has a direct negative impact on academic, occupational, or social functioning.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence estimates one in twenty children (5 per cent) and one in 29 adults (3 to 4 per cent) have the condition.

But NHS England believes the true figure may be higher.

It says it is unable to say how many people have a diagnosis or are waiting for an assessment because it does not have a consistent and complete dataset.

However, ADHD was the second most viewed health condition on the NHS website in 2023, after Covid-19, with 4.3million page views during the year.

Herefordshire and Worcestershire integrated care board warned in board papers last July of ‘exceptionally high waiting times’ for ADHD assessment and treatment of ’10 years+’.

And a separate survey the same month showed children in Coventry and Warwickshire are waiting an average of 142 weeks (almost three years) for all neurodiverse first appointments, which covers ADHD and autism.

Meanwhile, NHS data shows more than 230,000 people in England are now taking drugs to control their condition, with prescriptions up 5 per cent in a year.

NHS England announced the launch of the ADHD Taskforce at its board meeting this afternoon, saying it hoped to improve data collection and care.

Taskforce members and terms of reference will be published in the coming weeks and it is expected to produce a report later this year.

Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of NHS England, said: ‘NHS staff across the country are working hard to ensure all patients requiring assessments and further support from ADHD services are seen as promptly as possible.

‘We have recognised that that more needs to be done to ensure people can get a timely diagnosis and importantly, that all of their needs are addressed.

‘This is a hugely complex piece of work and this taskforce will need to consult a wide range of partner and experts, to understand more about the issues impacting those with ADHD and how service provision can be better joined up to meet people’s needs today and in the future.

‘This is a vital first step in helping us achieve real improvements in the ADHD services that the NHS and the independent sector provides.’

Henry Shelford, chief executive of ADHD UK, said he is celebrating the announcement, which he described as a ‘big deal’.

He said there are 2.6 million people with ADHD in the UK, waiting lists for adults range from 12 weeks to 10.5 years and those for children from 5 weeks to 5 years.

Henry added: ‘We have a hope we didn’t have and it is wonderful.

‘Until very recently NHS England didn’t even have a single individual with responsibility for ADHD so to have them announce a task force is a glorious tectonic change.

‘Entire life trajectories are altered by the waitlists for ADHD care. Lives are being ruined and lost in the current status quo.

‘This taskforce represents the potential for the revolutionary change that is crucially needed.’

Steve Russell, chief delivery officer at NHS England, said: ‘Using the findings from the initial review, we will improve data collection to help us understand the scale of the challenge and work closely with the new cross-sector taskforce to improve pathways for patients with ADHD.’

Health Secretary Victoria Atkins said: ‘It is vital that people with ADHD not only receive a timely assessment and diagnosis, but also the support they need to live fulfilled lives.

‘We’re already exploring options to improve data collection and reporting on assessment waiting times, and this new taskforce is crucial to support this work to ensure they get faster, simpler and fairer care.

‘A better understanding of the issues facing people with ADHD will help us across Government and the NHS to address them, creating solutions over the long term.’

Henry added: ‘We have a hope we didn’t have and it is wonderful.

‘Until very recently NHS England didn’t even have a single individual with responsibility for ADHD so to have them announce a task force is a glorious tectonic change.

‘Entire life trajectories are altered by the waitlists for ADHD care. Lives are being ruined and lost in the current status quo.

‘This taskforce represents the potential for the revolutionary change that is crucially needed.’

Actress Sheridan Smith is among the latest in a string of celebrities to share their diagnosis with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

The 42-year-old, who shot to fame on The Royle Family as Antony’s girlfriend Emma,  told Vogue that it has helped her ‘make sense of a lot of things’ in her life and better understand her ‘brain’s background noise’.

Other celebs to have been diagnosed with ADHD include Sue Perkins, Johnny Vegas and Ben Fogle.