If you have received a letter anything like this, please get in touch with us.
ADHD is recognised by NICE, the World Health Organisation, the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network, the Royal College of Psychiatrists and the Scottish Government, and indeed improving services for ADHD was the subject of three recent parliamentary debates in Westminster and Holyrood.
Although symptoms must have been present before the age of 12 for a diagnosis, there is inevitably a huge number of adults with it who were not diagnosed in childhood when the condition was less well understood than it is now.
It is thought that around 2.5 – 4% of the adult population would benefit from treatment for ADHD(1), but NHS Scotland data shows that less than 1 in 1000 adults (0.1%) in Scotland were taking medication for ADHD in 2017.
There is undoubtedly a shortfall of adult psychiatrists with the time and expertise to manage demand, but turning people away at the door is not the answer.
We are on the case. Watch this space for updates.
- Faraone SV, Biederman J. What is the prevalence of adult ADHD? Results of a population screen of 966 adults. Journal of attention disorders. 2005;9(2):384-91.
