Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps he is taking to ensure that patients who pursue non-NHS ADHD treatment are not disadvantaged in accessing (a) ongoing and (b) future NHS treatment.

The Department has not issued guidance to integrated care boards (ICBs) or general practices (GPs) on supporting patients with private attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses to transition into National Health Service care.

It is the responsibility of the ICBs in England to make available appropriate provision to meet the health and care needs of their local population, including access to ADHD services, in line with relevant National Institute for Health and Care Excellence guidelines.

Shared care with the NHS refers to an arrangement whereby a specialist doctor formally transfers responsibility for all or some aspects of their patient’s care, such as prescription of medication, over to the patient’s GP.

The General Medical Council (GMC), which regulates and sets standards for doctors in the United Kingdom, has made it clear that GPs cannot be compelled to enter into a shared care agreement. GPs may decline such requests on clinical or capacity grounds.

The GMC has issued guidance on prescribing and managing medicines, which helps GPs decide whether to accept shared care responsibilities. In deciding whether to enter into a shared care agreement, a GP will need to consider a number of factors such as whether the proposed activity is within their sphere of competence, and therefore safe and suitable for their patient’s needs. This includes the GP being satisfied that any prescriptions or referrals for treatment are clinically appropriate.

If a shared care arrangement cannot be put in place after the treatment has been initiated, the responsibility for continued prescribing falls upon the specialist clinician, and this applies to both NHS and private medical care.