ADHD diagnoses in the U.K. are drastically increasing over the past years. Because of this, the National Health Service is having a hard time accommodating ADHD patients.
ADHD Diagnoses in UK Drastically Increase
An elderly gentleman walks past a hospital sign on September 26, 2007, in London, England. In a report to be released September 27, 2007, the Healthcare Commission outlines care by the NHS Trust should provide further dignity in care to the elderly.
According to New Scientist's latest report, a new study revealed that ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) diagnoses increased by almost 20-fold between 2000 and 2018.
This new study was conducted by researchers at the University College of London. The Daily Mail UK reported that around seven million people in the U.K. were studied.
These individuals are between the ages of 3 and 99 years old. Based on their findings, more than 35,800 of these people are diagnosed with ADHD.
Meanwhile, over 18,500 of them received ADHD medication prescriptions from their GP.
UCL experts said that ADHD is more common in children compared to adults. This mental disorder usually affects males more than females.
"Over the last few years, there have been many reports of long waiting lists for ADHD assessments on the NHS, especially in adults," said the study's lead author, Dr. Doug McKechnie.
He added that since they expect more ADHD diagnoses in the U.K. in the next years, specialist services need to make efforts to handle patients.
NHS is Struggling to Accommodate ADHD Patients
Alessia Ramos, 9, diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), is pictured during a therapy session with an Angora hamster named "Waffle" at the ISSSTE's National Center for Mental Health and Palliative Care in Mexico City on July 7, 2023. Eight dogs, two Australian parakeets, and an Angora hamster make up the team trained for the program at the National Center for Mental Health
The Guardian reported that the National Health Service is struggling to keep up with the rising ADHD diagnoses in the United Kingdom.
Because of this, residents-especially children-suspected of autism and ADHD need to wait as long as seven years just to get the treatment they need from NHS.
Experts are now concerned with the consequences of the lack of ADHD treatments needed by patients. They said that the long waits are putting the generation of neurodiverse young people at risk of mental disorders.
Among children, the long wait times are estimated to be around one year and four months after an initial screening.
This alarms many health experts because the wait times are three times longer than the average wait for CAMHS (children and adolescent mental health services).
If you want to learn more details about the ongoing ADHD crisis in the United Kingdom, you can click this link.
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