Seeking a Private Opinion for ADHD?
We understand that the current wait to see an ADHD specialist within the NHS is incredibly long and that this is causing a lot of distress for some patients. If you decide to seek a private opinion there are a few things you should take into consideration.
First please make sure that you are seeing someone who has the appropriate qualifications. Ideally, they should be a qualified psychiatrist with a specialism in ADHD.
If following your assessment, the psychiatrist recommends medication, you should be aware that this will need to be started and monitored by a psychiatrist. This is likely to incur an additional cost, so it would be worth considering from the start.
Medication for ADHD is specialised and can only be prescribed and monitored by a psychiatrist. Your GP will not be able to prescribe this. Only when you have been stable on the medication for a period of time would your GP be able to prescribe it. It is usual that while you stay on the medication you will need regular monitoring which at first will also need to be done by the psychiatrist.