We’ve updated our Assessments and Medication guide to help you out, though you might not like the news(!)
Transferring in the rest of the UK or from abroad
The NHS is a brand. For all patient-facing aspects, the organisations in England, Wales and Northern Ireland are legally totally separate and each nation in the UK does not share its data. This consequence of this is that although you may have an ADHD assessment, and even a prescription, from another nation (the UK, EU, or North America), you won’t be able to skip the queue here in Scotland. All transfers are treated equally.
Any supporting documentation (assessment, existing proof of prescription), will be helpful when you are re-assessed and speed up that stage of the process, but you need to get to that stage first! Assessment waiting times range from 2 years to 7 years depending on your local area, and some waiting lists are closed entirely, meaning you can’t get assessed at all. Titration (the process of getting medication and ensuring the dosage is correct) may be an additional period of time later – 6 months waits are common.
Waiting times are all related to the region of Scotland (your local health board) that you move to. Your local GP will be able to give you guidance.
In the meantime, the only recourse is to seek a private prescription if you wish to continue with medication. There are no external funding sources for this.
- If you are based in the UK, and you have a private provider under Shared Care, your existing clinic may be able to continue prescribing but you would have to meet all the costs until such time that you received medication via the Scottish NHS system, after they have assessed you.
- If you are moving to the UK or were prescribed on the NHS, you would need to register at a private clinic. If you can present your ADHD assessment (or an officially certified translation, if it is not in English), then this may save you some of the assessment costs from a UK clinic, but they would still need to do at least a medication review. The best option here is to phone around as different clinics will have different policies and costs regarding this.
More on assessment and medication can be found here. We’ve also got lots of information available in our growing collection of guides: https://www.scottishadhdcoalition.org/support-index/
The Scottish ADHD Coalition brings together voluntary organisations providing support to adults and children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and their parents, carers and families. You can sign up to our mailing list here, read our FAQs, or find your nearest support group.