Private vs NHS ADHD assessment: waiting times, cost and shared care

If you are weighing up whether to wait for an NHS ADHD assessment or pay for one, the decision usually comes down to three things: how long the wait is, what it costs, and whether you can move back to NHS prescribing afterwards. We are a private provider, so read this with that in mind - but the third point is the one people get caught out by, and it deserves a straight answer.

Waiting times

NHS adult ADHD waits vary enormously by area and have been long for several years - in many places measured in years rather than months. Your GP or local trust can tell you the current position where you live, and it is worth asking before assuming.

Private assessment is measured in weeks, because there is no referral queue to join.

Cost

NHS assessment and any subsequent prescribing are free. Private assessment is a one-off fee, and if medication follows there is a titration period with review appointments, which is an ongoing cost until things are stable.

Be wary of any provider that quotes an assessment fee without explaining what comes after it. The assessment is rarely the end of the spending.

The shared care question

This is the important one. After a private diagnosis and titration, many people want their NHS GP to take over prescribing - that is shared care, and it is what makes private assessment affordable long term.

Shared care is not automatic. It is an agreement your individual GP practice chooses to enter into, and practices differ. Some accept private diagnoses routinely; some have a policy of not entering shared care with private providers at all; some will consider it case by case.

Ask your GP practice before you book anywhere. A five-minute phone call to your surgery, asking whether they accept shared care following a private ADHD diagnosis, can save you a great deal of money and frustration. If the answer is no, you need to factor in paying for prescriptions and reviews indefinitely.

What makes a private report more likely to be accepted

A report that sets out what was assessed, the evidence considered, and the clinical reasoning is more useful to a GP than one that simply states a conclusion. It should also be written by a clinician qualified to make the diagnosis. We write ours with shared care in mind, though we cannot guarantee any particular practice will agree - nobody honestly can.

Doing both

Worth knowing: going private does not remove you from the NHS waiting list in most areas, and you do not have to leave your NHS GP. Some people stay on the list while being assessed privately.

Talk it through first

Our free triage call exists for exactly these questions. Ring 01482 766555.