Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if she will make an assessment of the implications for her policies of the average waiting time for people diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to receive their first medication prescription in Leeds.

It is the responsibility of the integrated care boards (ICBs) to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidance. The NICE guideline on ADHD does not set out a timeframe within which medication for ADHD should be provided. The Department has not made a specific assessment of the implications on departmental policies of the average waiting time from diagnosis of ADHD, to receiving a first medication prescription in Leeds.

In respect of the adequacy of ADHD service provision nationally, in December 2023, NHS England initiated a rapid piece of work to consider ADHD service provision within the National Health Service. The initial phase of work identified challenges, including with current service models and the ability to keep pace with demand. Following this initial review, NHS England is establishing a new ADHD taskforce alongside the Government, to look at ADHD service provision and its impact on patient experience. The new taskforce will bring together expertise from across a broad range of sectors, including the NHS, education, and justice, to better understand the challenges affecting people with ADHD, and help provide a joined up approach in response to concerns around rising demand for assessments and support.

Alongside the work of the taskforce, NHS England has announced that it will continue to work with stakeholders to develop a national ADHD data improvement plan, carry out more detailed work to understand the provider and commissioning landscape, and capture examples from local health systems which are trialling innovative ways of delivering ADHD services to ensure best practice is captured and shared across the system.