Unlock the Editor’s Digest for free
Roula Khalaf, Editor of the FT, selects her favourite stories in this weekly newsletter.
Almost 2.5mn people in England are thought to have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder but only around a third of them have a diagnosis, official data shows.
Some 1.6mn people aged 25 and over and 888,000 children and young adults have ADHD, according to NHS data released on Thursday. It is the first official publication of statistics on the prevalence of the condition.
But ADHD — a neuro-developmental condition characterised by persistent inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity — remains heavily under-diagnosed.
The NHS says just 1.3 per cent of people have a diagnosis on their GP records, far below official estimates that it affects 3 to 4 per cent of adults and 5 per cent of children.
Anita Thapar, chair of the independent ADHD task force commissioned last year to improve health services, said the data showed that diagnosis rates were “well below” the expected prevalence.
“There is lots of evidence that unsupported ADHD is a powerful route to many adverse outcomes — mental and physical health, and employment and education,” she added. “But with the right support and the right time people can thrive.”
The data comes as the NHS looks to reform ADHD services, which have been overwhelmed by a surge in referrals. Social media platforms such as TikTok have increased awareness of the condition, with waiting times of more than a decade for new referrals in some areas.
Some 549,000 patients were on the waiting list for an ADHD assessment in March, the NHS data revealed, a rise of about a third since the same month last year. The figures exclude private clinics.
Long waiting lists have created a surge in demand for private assessments, raising concerns about quality of care and health inequalities, as official data shows ADHD prescriptions are rising faster for wealthier patients.
The task force’s final findings, expected this summer, will emphasise the need for quality control across all providers and suggest a move to a needs-based approach that uncouples support from diagnosis, Thapar said.
Henry Shelford, chief executive of charity ADHD UK, said that “squeezed” NHS budgets had led to “abject failure” in diagnosing and treating people with the condition, and cuts to services had caused some areas to stop offering referrals.
He called for a national ADHD strategy “as the government has for autism” to be included in the 18-week target for the NHS, a properly funded task force, and better support in schools.
The Department of Health and Social Care said it would “get the NHS back on its feet by turning around severe delays and getting people the support they need” through the “plan for change”, the government’s blueprint for reform.
