The BBCAlmost 400,000 private prescriptions for ADHD drugs were issued last year as patients tried to bypass long NHS waiting lists, with people spending hundreds of thousands of pounds on treatment.
Figures obtained by the BBC show that the number of drug prescriptions was 28,439 in 2018-19, rising to 397,552 in 2023-24.
A West Yorkshire family said they had opted to re-mortgage their home to cover the costs, after research showed the backlog of ADHD assessments could take up to eight years to clear in some parts of the UK. .
The Department of Health and Social Care said it was working to get waiting lists under control, adding that the NHS had recently launched an “ADHD Task Force” to help tackle delays.
ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is a condition that affects people’s behavior – making it difficult to concentrate and manage time.
Acting emotionally and taking risks can also be a problem and has been linked to serious mental health illnesses such as depression and anxiety.
According to the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, between 3-4% of adults in the UK have ADHD, while the global prevalence of the condition in children is around 5%.
A BBC investigation last year found that more than 196,000 adults were on NHS waiting lists seeking a diagnosis across many parts of the UK. Recording waiting times of at least eight years.
Among those who have taken the long-awaited step are Janine and Chris from Halifax.
The couple were told it could be two years before their children, Oliver, 13, and Sophie, eight, are seen by the NHS in West Yorkshire.
“Oliver’s ADHD was debilitating,” Janine said.
“For both children, ADHD manifested itself through anxiety, an inability to focus on their studies, and emotional dysregulation.
“Oliver couldn’t face going to school because of the anxiety. Sophie, especially on Mondays, would come home completely burnt out. We were just banging our heads against the wall with the NHS.”
After deciding to go private, the couple paid more than £8,000 for both children’s diagnoses and a further £500 a month for their medication.
‘Financial Stress’
The couple turned to an interest-only mortgage to fund treatment.
“It felt like we had no options,” Chris said.
“Finding money every month is more stressful when you’re already dealing with the challenges of ADHD.”
“There’s a shelf life of how long we can afford to do this because it’s definitely a financial strain,” Janine added.
His son, Oliver, said: “When I didn’t have the medicine, it was hard to focus and concentrate, and I got distracted easily.
“But since I started taking my medicine, I’ve gotten a lot better, and in the last four months, I’ve started learning to play the guitar.”
Figures obtained by the BBC through a Freedom of Information request to the NHS Business Services Authority show that in 2023-24, the equivalent of 525,000 packets of controlled ADHD medication will be privately prescribed to 30,000 patients. was done
A commonly prescribed drug, methylphenidate, can cost private patients between £15 and £50 a month. While lisdexamfetamine and dexamfetamine can cost patients between £50 and £130 a month.
Although some families say the cost of private medicine is simply unaffordable.
“We can’t afford the monthly costs,” said Jenny Barker, from Pontefract, who has been trying to get her 21-year-old daughter Nicole an NHS prescription for ADHD medication for the past seven years.
“If we were to go private and I’m honest, that would probably mean we’d have to go down the road of going to food banks, because we’d have to make cuts in other areas of the household budget,” he said.
“The system is broken and incredibly unfair.”
Graham, from West Yorkshire, said he had been paying less than £100 a month for his ADHD medication since going private four months ago after being diagnosed with severe depression and anxiety, which forced him to work. Couldn’t do it.
He said he thinks increased awareness of the condition, along with an increase in online content, may push people to seek private help.
Videos on YouTube and TikTok that claim to help people self-diagnose. Got billions of viewswhile celebrities, such as TV presenter Ant McPartlin, singer Jessie J and comedian Johnny Vegas, have recently shared details of their diagnosis.
“It’s been a good investment, but I think a lot of people watch YouTube videos for ADHD drugs that explain the sudden calm and quiet of the mind and get their hopes up on that happening to them. “
“My experience and from talking to other people is that the effects are much more subtle than that.”
Emily Dove, who also has ADHD, works as a private assistant psychologist in Leeds.
“We’re seeing more and more private referrals where people are just desperate,” he said.
“People can’t wait as long as they’re being told they have to wait with the NHS, and they see no other option than to raise the money to pay for a private assessment.”
Ms Doe was diagnosed with ADHD in her early 30s and said women and girls in particular struggled to get a diagnosis through the NHS.
“I remember going to see my GP and he told me that ADHD was a phenomenon and that everyone thought they had it. It was so false. The stereotype for ADHD is now Also more active, excited boys running around.
“I think it’s cheaper for the NHS to diagnose people with anxiety and depression, which are often by-products of ADHD, than to properly diagnose and diagnose people for ADHD.”
‘Broken NHS’
An NHS spokesman said: “Patients are waiting too long to be diagnosed with ADHD due to the NHS Launched an independent expert task force. which will look at the root causes of the problem across disciplines as well as help the health service manage the increasing number of ADHD referrals.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “Lord Darzey’s report shows how severe delays have become for people waiting for a diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in our broken NHS. .
“This Government will get the NHS back on its feet and bring waiting lists under control, so people don’t feel they have to turn to the private sector for treatment.
“NHS England’s ADHD Task Force is also bringing together expertise from the NHS, the education sector and the justice system, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD.”
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