Has demand for ADHD assessments risen?Reports from doctors, patients, and the media would suggest so. England has no national data on waiting times and referrals for attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), but a report by the Nuffield Trust found that the number of people getting ADHD treatments prescribed rose from 154 858 in 2019-20 to 233 474 in 2022-23.1At the same time GPs have reported being overwhelmed by patients seeking ADHD assessments,2 and researchers have reported that the overall rate of new diagnoses increased in male and female patients aged over 18 between 2000 and 2018. One of the most significant increases was in men aged 18-29, rising from 0.68 to 50.0 per 100 000 person years.3An online survey of 7340 people by the House of Commons Petitions Committee, conducted from 2021 to 2022, also reported long waits for NHS assessments for ADHD. Of those who received an ADHD diagnosis, around…
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