The NHS can no longer meet the demand for autism assessments and ADHD treatments in England, according to a new report published by a think tank.
Nuffield Trust, an independent health think tank that aims to improve the quality of health care in the UK, found that in the last five years, the waiting list for autism assessment has risen five-fold while 51% more people are being prescribed medication for ADHD.
The Trust believes that longer wait times and medication supply issues are starting to negatively impact people’s lives and that simply ‘pumping more money’ into the current system wouldn’t help. Instead, they believe that a complete rethink on autism and ADHD is needed.
Chief Exectuive, Thea Stein, told the BBC:
“We’re at a really critical point as a society, where we’re actually understanding neurodiversity and the fact it’s a much greater spectrum for the whole of society than we’ve ever had before. It’s a really complicated issue for us all to collectively understand but it’s frankly impossible to imagine how the system can grow fast enough to fill the current demand.”
Thea Stein, CEO of The Nuffield Trust
“We’ve certainly got to have a different approach within educational services that says you don’t need that letter in your hand. We are going to need to think in a much more creative way than simply have a conversation that says we need more NHS resources, as that isn’t the solution.”
Thea Stein, CEO of The Nuffield Trust
ADHD and autism crisis: How we got to this point
This issue with autism waiting lists and ADHD medication has been affecting patients for a long time now. In December, as revealed in our report, there had been a 900% increase in the number of people trying to medicate themselves for ADHD without a diagnosis due to wait times and other stigmas.
One out of every 100 people are believed to be on the autism spectrum while 2.6m are confirmed to have ADHD in the UK. The NHS can no longer keep up with these numbers with 24% of patients referred for ADHD now being forced to wait 1-2 years for an assessment.
Those who are then diagnosed with the condition are then having to combat supply shortages due to ‘manufacturing issues’ and ‘increased global demand’.
In terms of autism, there are 172,000 adults and children currently on a waiting for an assessment according to NHS data. The average wait time rose to over nine months at the end of 2023. For comparison, this wait time was just four months at the end of 2019. The Nuffield Trust believe that the rise in demand is down to greater awareness of the conditions and changing social attitudes. Only Covid-19 was viewed more on the NHS website than ADHD in 2023, showing that more and more people are learning about the condition.
How to resolve the problem
There are a few thoughts on how the crisis can be resolved. Dr James Cusack, the Chief Executive of the charity Austica said that there needs to be “a focus on each person’s strengths and needs so that get the support they need earlier” and that services “need to adapt” to the rise in neurodivergent people.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Department of Health said:
“We know it’s vital to have a timely diagnosis of autism or ADHD and we are taking action to reduce assessment delays. NHS England has published a national framework to help speed up autism assessments and is establishing a new ADHD taskforce alongside the government, to improve care for people living with the condition.
“In addition, our £13m partnership with NHS England will help improve specialist support for neurodiverse children in primary schools.”
Finally, Sir Robert Buckland, who wrote the government’s autism review said:
“The Nuffield Trust have shone an invaluable light on a growing problem. Instead of waiting for diagnoses, we should equip the system to embrace neurodiversity. Children cannot wait.”
Final thought
The Nuffield Trust’s report underscores a pressing reality: the NHS is struggling to meet the escalating demand for autism assessments and ADHD treatments. As awareness grows, so do waiting lists, exacerbating the challenges individuals face in accessing timely care which has led to some individuals trying to take matters into their own hands.
The proposed solutions, from rethinking approaches to embracing neurodiversity, signal a necessary shift in how society addresses these issues but the imperative remains clear – action must be swift and comprehensive to ensure equitable support for all affected individuals.
To read more about our previous work detailing issues surrounding neurodevelopmental disorders click here, and to sign up to our newsletter to gain daily insight and access to our quarterly journal, please click here.