Right to Choose Referral for ADHD and Autism.
Nationally, the number of patients requesting a referral for assessment for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASD) has increased dramatically. Many Local NHS services are struggling to cope with this demand, and the waiting times for an assessment are often many years long.
Because of this many patients are now requesting a referral by the Right to Choose (RTC) pathway.
What is Right To Choose?
If your GP (or a hospital specialist) agrees that you need a specialist referral, the Right to Choose rules mean that you can choose which hospital or clinic you are referred to.
For ADHD / ASD referrals, patients often choose to be referred to a private company who have an NHS contract. This means they can see NHS patients.
Many of these companies do their assessments virtually e.g. by video calls.
How to be referred
We cannot select a right to choose provider for you, you need to research this and make a decision yourself. You can find out more about providers of ADHD and ASD assessments at ADHD.co.uk
When selecting a Right to Choose Provider, you must ensure that:
- You meet their referral criteria
- They can prescribe medication for you under a ‘shared care agreement’ (if you are interested in being prescribed medication for ADHD). See below for details.
- You are aware of their waiting times.
Once you have selected a provider, you will need to find out from them what referral information they require. This usually includes a referral form and screening questionnaire. For children this may also include collecting reports from school teachers.
Once you have collected this information and completed the referral forms, you need to return these to us and we will make the referral if appropriate.
Important information on ADHD medication
If you are interested in receiving ADHD medication, and will eventually want this to be prescribed by the GP surgery, you must ensure that the right to choose provider has the ability to fully participate in ‘Shared Care Prescribing’.
Shared Care Prescribing
ADHD medications are classified as specialist drugs. In order for your GP to prescribe them for you you must:
- See a specialist clinic as an NHS patient
- Have your initial prescriptions provided by the specialist clinic until you have been reviewed by them and are on a stable dose
- remain under long term follow up with the specialist clinic
- attend any required follow up appointments and physical health checks
Adhd medications can only be prescribed by GPs if they are started by a specialist, and the patient must remain under review with that specialist for the full time they are receiving the medication.
We are only able to agree to Shared Care Prescribing if you are being treated as an NHS patient. We are unable to participate in shared care prescribing for patients being treated privately.
The specialist needs to make an initial assessment to decide what treatment is appropriate for you. If they require any physical health checks before starting the medication (such as blood tests or an ECG), they are responsible for arranging these and you may need to travel to have them.
The specialist must provide your initial prescriptions and arrange follow up reviews for you.
Once the specialist has confirmed the medication is working as expected, and you are on a stable dose, they can then ask the GP surgery to take over prescribing.
The specialist must review you each year to ensure the medication is still appropriate for you.
If you are discharged from the specialist clinic, or stop attending appointments, we will stop providing prescriptions of the medication.
Some shared care medication requires ongoing physical health checks, for example a blood pressure check every 6 months. We will stop prescribing the medication if you do not attend for these checks.
You can read a more detailed explanation of Shared care prescribing here.
How can I get help while waiting for my assessment?
NHS Autism support information
NHS ADHD support and advice- young people
NHS ADHD support and advice- adults
View our mental health support pages below
