Desperate families are shelling out thousands to go private for neurodiversity assessments and ongoing medication.
Hundreds of parents are being forced to pay for ADHD diagnosis and treatment for their children because the NHS won’t fund it.
Desperate families are shelling out thousands to go private for neurodiversity assessments and ongoing medication.
It comes after we told how more than 28,000 children are on autism and ADHD waiting lists, some for more than four years.
Medication alone for ADHD costs between £300 and £1800 a year if paid for privately.
One dad told the Sunday Mail how he paid more than £5000 for assessments and treatment for himself and his seven-year-old son.
He said: “ADHD can have a stark effect on a child. Denying them the treatment they need is robbing them of their education and their future. You can’t afford to wait.”
The mum of another child said: “Parents are being left with no other option because their children can’t cope.”
We asked all 14 Scottish health boards if they would fund medication after a private diagnosis given long waits for assessments – or help by offering shared care and contributing to the cost.
Most health boards confirmed they did not partly or fully fund medication on this basis.
NHS Fife, NHS Grampian and NHS Highland confirmed a private diagnosis would be incorporated as part of the referral to their Neurodevelopment Pathway and considered as part of that individual’s NHS assessment – meaning medication would be provided only after an NHS diagnosis.
NHS Lothian confirmed that if a patient has had a private assessment, it would review the diagnosis and suggested treatment as soon as the patient gets to the top of the waiting list.
NHS Forth Valley said anyone moving from private care to the NHS would need to speak to their GP and where appropriate be referred to their local provider.
Caroline Cameron, director of North Ayrshire Health and Social Care, said: “There are currently no shared care arrangements for prescribing following a private ADHD diagnosis undertaken outwith CAMHS.”
Claire Rae, of North Lanarkshire Health and Social Care Partnership, said: “Unfortunately, we are unable to support funding for private prescriptions issued by a private healthcare provider.”
Edinburgh Southern MSP Daniel Johnson, who was himself diagnosed with ADHD at 35, just over 10 years ago, said:“Neurodiversity services are at breaking point under the SNP.
“Tens of thousands of children are stuck for years on waiting lists, with many more barred completely from any kind of treatment pathway.”
Last week, figures fromScottish health boards showed that at least 28,487 children were on NHS waiting lists for preliminary investigations for autism and ADHD. That is up 4489 on the past year
Experts say neurodivergent children’s physical and mental issues are likely to worsen if left without treatment and support.
In the NHS Orkney area, 27 children had waited more than four years for assessment.
A Scottish Government spokesperson said: “We are supporting NHS Boards and community partners to improve access to support for children and young people with neurodevelopmental needs.”
