Policy for patients – ADHD Diagnosis and treatment including shared care processes
ADHD Treatment: What You Need to Know
Introduction
If you have ADHD or suspect you might, this summary outlines how our Practices will work with you and other healthcare specialists to provide the best care possible. We are committed to offering the best possible care for our patients with ADHD. If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
Initial Steps
- Consultation: To begin, we will ask you to contact us via the Ask my GP platform from where we will be able to discuss symptoms, signpost to different resources and if needed invite you in for a further telephone or face to face conversation. If you struggle to access this platform please contact the surgery by calling or popping to speak to our admin team who will be happy to help.
- Referral: If needed, you’ll be referred to a specialist for further evaluation and treatment. Currently the wait time for ADHD referrals on the NHS is very long up to 2 years. You have the option of choosing a private provider, which you will have to pay for, but please note that we cannot vouch for the quality of care provided by private specialists and we will not able to enter into “Shared Care Agreements” with them (see below), a shared care agreement is something that has to be in place for you receive ADHD medication on the NHS.
Shared Care Agreement
Note: We only enter into shared care agreements with NHS specialists (i.e. not private specialists) or those providers that have been commissioned on behalf of the NHS.
- Start of Medication: If medication is prescribed, the specialist will handle the initiation phase until your treatment is stable, which usually involves a three-month review.
- Ongoing Care: After stabilisation, the responsibility for prescribing your medication might shift to your GP under what’s known as a “shared care agreement.” The GP may decide to accept this shared care agreement or may request that the specialist continue to prescribe the medication.
- Annual Reviews: The specialist will need to conduct an annual review of your treatment, and you may need to attend a GP appointment for physical checks like blood pressure, pulse rate, and weight.
Important Notes
- The Practice will need to make sure that all protocols have been followed. Your GP will only prescribe medication if these conditions are met.
- Missed Appointments: If you fail to attend your scheduled check-ups, your prescription may be stopped for your safety, this is because ADHD medication are controlled drugs and things such as your weight and blood pressure affect the safety of prescribing them
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You may have seen in the news recently GPs are taking collective action in a dispute with the Government over the new GP contract.
The Practice has agreed to participate in joint action with the British Medical Association.
This is NOT about pay but about General Practice receiving the amount of funding needed to employ enough doctors, nurses and other staff to provide sufficient appointments and for our staff to work safely.
One of these steps is that we will not be accepting any NEW shared care agreements from hospitals or private providers to prescribe certain specific medications on their behalf. All existing shared care protocols will continue to be honored.
Why are we doing this?
Like you, we GPs want to look after your friends, your family, to look after YOU
To have appointments that are simple and easy to make and help you with your health problems LOCALLY
Your family doctor providing continuity of CARE
Why can’t GPs do this?
General practice is being BROKEN, GPs are overstretched and overworked, working long hours and still unable to see all their patients. Many are burning out and opting out. Practices are more expensive to run. Practices are closing. Communities have far fewer GPs and fewer surgeries over the last 10 years. Too many patients struggle to see their family doctor and get the care they need. Practices are being asked to do the work of others and other care providers that historically we have never been involved in.
Why is this?
Practice funding in England has fallen by £660m since 2019. General practice is being BROKEN. We now get just 30p a day for every patient registered with us. Less than the cost of an apple.
Becoming a GP takes dedication, a decade of education and lifelong continued learning
We do what nobody else can do, providing care from cradle to grave, on your doorstop.
Join us in calling for:-
More GPs
More practice nurses
More appointments
The care you need and we want to give
GPs are on your side
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Private Providers and some NHS “Right to Choose” providers
We will not carry out tests that private providers want you to have, any tests that private providers need to be done must be completed by them. The Right to Choose providers are also commissioned to do things like physical checks and blood tests and therefore this is also something that they should provide. If they are an online/remote provider you will need to discuss this fully with them on how to proceed.
Private Providers
If you have started treatment with a private provider, you will either need to:
- approach the Practice to request a referral to an NHS specialist, or
- continue to receive your treatment directly from your private provider indefinitely
Please note that there may be a significant delay in having your diagnosis reviewed by the NHS team and them agreeing to participate in a shared care agreement. During this time, you will need to continue to receive your treatment directly from your private provider. The Practice is not able or obliged in any way to provide a “bridging” prescription.
Moving Your ADHD Care to us
Transferring from Another UK General Practice Surgery
- Your medical records should transfer electronically to us within days, but this isn’t always the case please ensure you have a good supply of your medication from your old / last GP Practice before leaving them or the area
- Upon registering with us, please send us a copy of your shared care agreement or ask your last GP Practice to send us a copy of your shared care agreement – this can be emailed to us or in paper form
Shared Care Agreement
If you are under the care of an in-person NHS mental health team, provided the standards are met during the initial checks, we’ll proceed with establishing a Shared Care Agreement, ensuring your treatment continues.
- If you are under the care of a private specialist, we will not be able to enter into a shared care agreement. You can ask us to refer you to an in-person NHS mental health team, but while waiting to see them, you will need to obtain your treatment from your private specialist directly
Intervening Prescriptions
During the transition phase, it might be necessary for you to obtain your prescriptions from your consultant until the Shared Care Agreement is in place.
Transferring from Overseas
Medication Supply
- It’s crucial that you bring a sufficient supply of your medication to last while we conduct our initial checks and connect you to a UK Consultant, either privately or via the NHS.
Initial Registration
- Contact us and register as soon as you arrive in the UK. This will enable us to initiate the necessary procedures to ensure continuity of your ADHD treatment.
Establishing a Shared Care Agreement
- The process to establish a Shared Care Agreement can take several weeks. During this period, we will not be able to prescribe ADHD medication for you.
Engagement with UK consultant
- We’ll assist in connecting you to a UK consultant to evaluate your treatment plan and ensure it aligns with UK healthcare standards. This step is crucial for establishing a Shared Care Agreement and ensuring a smooth transition of care. The wait times advised above will apply to your referral so it is important that you have enough medication when you enter the UK to cover your first few weeks