Mum critical of delays to ADHD and autism assessments

Some parents have been told they face delays to assessments for autism and ADHD diagnoses in Northamptonshire.

Victoria McConnachie from Gayton said her daughter Alba, nine, has been on the NHS waiting list for an assessment since 2023, and earlier this year the family applied to the NHS who agreed to fund a private assessment.

However, last month the mum was told by the provider that the county's NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB) had set limits and assessments were on hold.

A spokesperson for Northamptonshire ICB said demand for assessments and treatment had "increased significantly in recent years, creating considerable pressure on NHS services nationally and across Northamptonshire".

The NHS "right to choose" option began in 2018 to allow patients to explore alternative providers for some services if waiting times in their own area for NHS assessments were too long.

Under the policy, patients can decide to opt for assessments from both other NHS providers or non-NHS companies or organisations.

McConnachie said it was a "challenge to try and find somewhere else for [Alba] to be assessed" for autism and ADHD [attention deficit hyperactivity disorder].

She said she did not feel the right-to-choose scheme was working.

"I'm just trying to find one that may possibly assess her. So it's just the unknown really, which isn't helpful," she said.

McConnachie said she felt it was important to get the assessment because it would "help us understand her better and it will help me be able to advocate for her better".

"I'm not saying that a diagnosis brings support, but I think it's just for her own understanding of who she is and just to help her in the world."

Henry Shelford, chief executive of the charity ADHD UK, said: "It's outrageous because life doesn't stop.

"What you have here is a plan to reduce the support rather than keep pace with need and that's why it is outrageous.

"This kind of restriction flies in the face of the goal of right-to-choose and is essentially recreating the postcode lottery that so much effort has been put into reducing."

Northamptonshire ICB said: "Our longer-term aim is to develop a more joined-up, needs-led approach where people and families can access appropriate support as early as possible, while ensuring specialist assessment and care are available when required.

"People waiting for routine assessments may experience longer waits than we would want while this longer-term work takes place."

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