"Unacceptable waiting times for ADHD diagnosis"

My daughter completed all the online diagnostic tools used to diagnose an adult with ADHD.  She knew her symptoms were typical of adult ADHD and wanted to get a diagnosis on what she believed was affecting her.

Her doctor said they would refer her and didn't, and after complaining to the GP practice, my daughter was then referred.

Her GP practice then informed her in writing that they were in contact with NHS Tayside Community Mental Health Team regarding its list status. They had been advised that until February 2024 there had been one Psychiatric Consultant for the entire CMH service for South Tayside. However that individual left their post and they have been unable to recruit to the position. The service is therefore only screening referrals and where these are accepted, patients are being added to the list to be seen pending future recruitment.

They confirmed that the patient at the top of the list had been referred around 2 years and five months earlier. We are also advised that if a referral had been submitted in September 2022 it would have been screened and if it had been accepted, you would have been 79th on the list with an estimated waiting period of around 3.5 years, meaning that it is unlikely you would have been seen until at least February 2026. Currently, the list is not moving at all due to the recruitment situation.

The Dr's referral in January 2024 was supported by a letter outlining the position and seeking additional consideration in terms of expediting the process. This referral has since been screened and the service does not view the circumstances as urgent. They are therefore treating the referral as routine and have confirmed that only those patients assessed as at immediate risk to life are being considered urgently. Screening in those cases is via a separate specialist consultant in the North Tayside service who has a maximum appointment capacity of 6 appointments per week for their region.

The service has also confirmed that where patients receive a private diagnosis they will be placed on an extensive list and will not receive any form of treatment until they are fully assessed by a consultant. For information, this is the same team that would diagnose and treat those patients referred via the NHS system of referral. The reason for this is due to the nature of the follow-up and specialist review necessary for the types of medications used in such treatment. Private diagnosis therefore will not alter the time a patient subsequently has to wait before treatment.

I feel that this wait is totally unacceptable for patients with a mental health condition, and then to be told by her GP that even if you paid privately for a diagnosis, it wouldn't be acceptable for the patient then to receive medication from the GP who can monitor and care for the patient until you are seen (in several years' time) by an NHS Tayside Mental Health consultant specialist, who, it seems, will use the same diagnostic form my daughter filled in and gave back to her GP. This consultant specialist will be told the same information in a few years time that my daughter told her GP this year. I think it's outrageous!