ADHD - Adult and Children

Adult ADHD

AWP ADHD service is a specialist team of doctors, psychologists and nurses who work exclusively with adults who have ADHD. The service can reassess and continue treatment of people who have a diagnosis of ADHD from childhood; they also assess adults who have never had a diagnosis made.

Our local Adult ADHD service (AWP) have very long waiting times (5 years+) however, we can now refer patients to outside service providers for NHS Assessment and Diagnosis via Right to Choose (RTC).  Here are some of the providers available via RTC:

  • ADHD 360 (age 16 years and over)
  • Psychiatry UK (age 18 and over)
  • Clinical Partners (age 16 years and over) Please note Clinical Partners provide assessment only - they do not prescribe under Right to Choose
  • Dr J & Colleagues 

How to start a RTC referral request:

  1. Patients who wish to use RTC must first visit each of the websites (links below) to ensure that they have read and finalised their decision. (Patients are only able to be referred to one of the services at the time of referral)
  2. If you wish to be referred to AWP, please make an appointment with a GP in the first instance
  3. Once you have chosen your service provider, please download the necessary documentation (there is a link to this on each of the web pages)
  4. Return your completed documents to Bedminster Family Practice either by email (bnssg.bedminsterfamilypractice@nhs.net), by post or face to face. Please allow 7 days before arranging a GP appointment. This will enable us to upload the documents onto our clinical system

Form checklist

      • ADHD 360
        -Adult screening questionnaire ASRS
        - Right to choose patient waiting list risk assessment
      • Psychiatry UK
        -ASRS form
        -individualised consent letter
      • Clinical Partners (Please note Clinical Partners provide assessment only - they do not prescribe under Right to Choose)
        - ADHD self-report for adults
      • Dr J and Colleague                                                                                                                                                                        -ADHD Self Report Form

ADHD in Children

Children with suspected ADHD should be referred by school Special Educational Needs Co-ordinators (SENCo) where possible rather than via a GP. They will be asked to complete the the School Referral Questionnaire for assessment of ADHD.

This is preferable as:

  1. Information from school is required as part of the assessment and is required before the assessment can begin
  2. Schools need to be aware of the concerns and may be able to resolve some of issues with classroom intervention without the need for referral
  3. If a referral is received from a GP for a child who is in a school setting, without an explanation as to why a referral from school is not possible, the referral will be returned with the referrer directed to the school referral pathway

If you wish your child to be referred to the Local ADHD Service:

 Children outside of education or are home educated will need to contact the GP to arrange a referral.

"Right to Choose" (RTC) Providers

Currently Local ADHD Services have very long waiting times, however, your child can be referred to outside service providers for NHS Assessment and Diagnosis via RTC providers. 

  1. Parents who wish to use RTC must first visit each of the websites (links below) to ensure that they read and finalise their decision (your child will only able to be referred to one of the services at the time of referral)
  2. Once you have chosen your child's service provider, please download the relevant documents from the providers web page.  Completed forms can be returned to Bedminster Family Practice via email (bnssg.bedminsterfamilypractice@nhs.net), by post or face to face.  Please allow 7 working days for the forms to be uploaded to our clinical system before making a GP appointment

Clinical Partners

  • Clinical Partners offers ADHD assessments, as well as ADHD medication services, for children, young people, and adults aged five and above. All assessments are conducted online via a secure video link

Evolve Psychology

  • Evolve Psychology offer Right to Choose ADHD assessments for children. They are recognised as an approved provider by NHS England through the Right to Choose route for ADHD assessments in children and young people. If you would like to be assessed through this route, which is funded by the NHS, please make an appointment with the GP to discuss referral for assessment                   
  • Assessments are carried out as a mixture of online and in person appointments, the format will depend on what is the most clinically suitable route for your child

ADHD 360

  • ADHD 360 Offer ADHD assessment for Children and Young People (6 years +); they will titrate and medicate where appropriate

Psicon

  • Psicon offer ADHD assessments for Children and Young People (5 - 17 years); they will titrate and medicate where appropriate

Children under 5

Although children can present from an early age with ADHD symptoms, local community paediatric services are not able to prescribe medication for ADHD in children under the age of 5 and restrict assessments until children are over this age. 

However, families who have children with ADHD symptoms that are aged under 5 years can receive support through locally delivered behavioural interventions focussing on the management of attention difficulties and challenging behaviour, such as the Incredible Years course. These can be accessed without a formal diagnosis of ADHD

Parenting programmes, advice and telephone support

Happymaps also has useful resources for parents and professionals for children at different ages:

Children over the age of 17 years and 6 months will be re-directed to adult ADHD Services as their assessment will not be completed before they turn 18 years old.

Neurodiversity, autism and ADHD information for parents