NHS can’t cope with ‘avalanche’ of autism and ADHD diagnoses, experts warn amid unprecedented fivefold increase in referrals
There needs to be a ‘radical rethink’ of the way autism and ADHD are assessed and treated if the NHS is to cope with rising demand for care, a report has said.
Doctors are referring five times more patients for autism testing than in 2019, while the number of medications prescribed for ADHD has increased by 51 percent.
Health leaders are warning that the NHS is overwhelmed by the ‘extraordinary, unpredictable and unprecedented’ rise in demand for these services.
And they say it is ‘impossible to imagine’ how the NHS can expand fast enough to cope with the rise.
The Nuffield Trust think tank, which produced the report, says the growth in demand has been fueled by ‘changing social attitudes and increased awareness’.
Fascinating graphs show how the number of ADHD prescriptions has increased over time, with the demographic shift of the patient population from children to adults, with women in particular now driving the increase
Sheridan Smith, 42, recently revealed that she has been diagnosed with ADHD (pictured in 2023). The 42-year-old, who shot to fame in The Royle Family as Antony’s girlfriend Emma, told Vogue that it has helped her “understand a lot of things” in her life and better understand her “background noise of her brain.”
The booming market is believed to be fueled by celebrities such as model Katie Price and Love Island star Olivia Attwood (pictured) talking about their ADHD ordeal and having to wait up to ten years for an NHS assessment
This graph shows the percentage increase in the incidence of autism diagnoses between 1998 and 2018. British researchers found that the number of autism diagnoses had increased by an ‘exponential’ 787% in two decades. They said the increase could be due to increased recognition of the condition among experts, particularly in the field of diagnosing autism in girls and adults, but added that an increase in the number of autism cases itself does not can be excluded.
And it calls for a “system-wide approach” to neurodiversity in education, society and healthcare.
It comes after figures published by NHS Digital last month revealed that the number of patients waiting for an autism assessment in England is at its highest level since current data started in April 2019.
In December 2023, about 172,040 people were on waiting lists, up from 117,020 a year earlier and more than five times the 32,220 in December 2019.
Although the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice) recommends that people with suspected autism should be diagnosed within three months of referral, around 147,070 patients waited at least 13 weeks in December, more than six times the 24,250 in December 2019.
People who had a first appointment between October and December last year for suspected autism had waited an average of more than nine months for a check-up after their referral.
This compared to four months in the same period in 2019.
Meanwhile, over the same period there was a 51 percent increase in the number of patients prescribed medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
Within this, there was an increase of 28 percent among the age group of 10 to 14 years and an increase of 146 percent among the age group of 30 to 34 years.
Thea Stein, CEO of the Nuffield Trust, said: ‘The extraordinary, unpredictable and unprecedented rise in demand for autism assessments and ADHD treatments has completely overtaken the NHS’s ability to meet it.
“It’s frankly impossible to imagine how the system can grow fast enough to meet this demand.
‘We should not underestimate what this means for children in particular: many schools expect an assessment and formal diagnosis to access support – and children and their families are suffering while they wait.
‘We are only now beginning to realize how many people are neurodiverse.
“The challenge is that we have an outdated healthcare model to deal with this avalanche of needs.
‘The huge increase described in our analysis is likely due to a combination of changing social attitudes and increased awareness.
‘We urgently need to understand the different elements of this complex picture and find an integrated systems approach in education, society as a whole and healthcare.
‘Pumping more money into the current model is certainly not the solution: a radical rethink is needed.’
Estimates show that there may be as many as 1.2 million autistic people and 2.2 million people with ADHD in England.
NHS England announced last week that it would launch a new taskforce to investigate the worrying rise in the number of adults and children being diagnosed with ADHD.
Experts have warned that rogue private clinics are overdiagnosing the condition and have questioned the widespread prescribing of powerful stimulant drugs to treat the condition.
The booming market is believed to be driven by celebrities such as model Katie Price and Love Island star Olivia Attwood talking about their ADHD ordeal and waiting up to ten years for an NHS assessment.
Users also share on social media sites how medication helped them calm down, control their fidgeting and improve their concentration.
Long wait times for autism and ADHD can prevent people from getting the educational support and medication they need.
A recent report warned that failing to provide effective autism support for children could lead to an increase in mental health problems and a greater risk of school exclusion.
An NHS England spokesperson said: ‘The NHS is fully committed to supporting and improving the lives of people with ADHD and autism. That’s why we’ve published new national guidance to help local areas manage the 50 per cent increase in referrals they’ve seen in recent times. last year.
‘NHS England has also begun important work in investigating challenges in ADHD services and last month launched a cross-sector taskforce with the government to help provide a joined-up approach to the growing number of people coming forward for support.’