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Comment by pliptvo | Hacker News Reader

I literally just off the phone to my GP trying to get a referral for an adult ADHD diagnosis.

She basically said, there's a massive backlog and underfunding of the service, and instead of her referring me to the adult ADHD and autism psychology services directly I should approach a more generic NHS Adult Mental Health service and try to get them to refer me for a diagnosis, or write a letter asking her to. Just seems like a bit of a ringmarole.

She also said that the NHS wouldn't recognise a private diagnosis as they have a financial incentive to lean towards positive diagnoses, and so the NHS wouldn't foot the bill for eg any ADHD meds that would ensue from it.

Is this the experience other people have had, especially in the UK?

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UK here. Your GP is right about the massive backlog in mental health referrals (2+ years in my area) but wrong about prescription charges & the NHS recognising a diagnosis from a private psychiatrist.

Because of that huge backlog I went for a private diagnosis & prescription and then had that prescription transferred to my local GP under what's known as a 'Shared Care Agreement', so my scrip cost ~£110 per year (buy a Prescription Prepayment Certificate or 'season pass').

I know people who've managed to circumvent the waiting list (and private fees) using 'Right to choose' but I understand that can vary depending on your local health authority. Certainly worth exploring though.

May I ask how you decided where to go for a private diagnosis ?

As another waiting-list referral, I would consider going the same route but have no idea where best to look (and whether they may have shared care agreements or not).

It's really helpful to see all of these replies from the UK.

> She also said that the NHS wouldn't recognise a private diagnosis as they have a financial incentive to lean towards positive diagnoses, and so the NHS wouldn't foot the bill for eg any ADHD meds that would ensue from it.

I'm in the UK and this is not my experience so far.

You do need to be careful about private diagnosis and the handoff to NHS for treatment - it's true that it's not guaranteed that a private diagnosis will be accepted by the NHS to pick up treatment, but in my experience it's not the case that they will totally refuse to recognise a private diagnosis as you've been told. That may just be the position of the individual you spoke to, rather than a reflection of what you'd find across the board in the UK.

If you go the private route, it will likely help if the private practitioner is also a registered/practicing NHS doctor. If you're considering this, it may be worth speaking to the practitioner about the process for handover of care to the NHS - which they should be able to clarify for you before you spend any money with them!

I was referred by my GP over a year ago for an adult ADHD diagnosis. I used the NHS Right To Choose so that I could use a private clinic, however even with them the wait has been a year and they're saying the earliest I'm going to be seen is October. My GP has contacted me to say there's a new service they're starting soon and that I've been referred there too, but they couldn't tell me how long the wait would be - basically they said to go with whichever one is available first.

If you can get a referral from your doctor, I would have a look at Right To Choose and go with someone private like Psychiatry UK as you shouldn't have to pay, the NHS will take the cost of that. (Also a note that paying them money doesn't get you seen any quicker, I've tried asking)

In my experience, the NHS will only diagnose severe cases of ADHD in children. Everything else is a struggle, like most mental health services on the NHS unfortunately. I think the best option is to get a private diagnosis - I am considering this myself actually.

We got a private diagnosis for my son (to save potentially a year waiting) and that was recognised by the NHS paediatrician.

Horrible experience with his school though, that’s another story!

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