AQW 34248/22-27

Ms Paula Bradshaw
Alliance Party
South Belfast

Tabled Date: 23/10/2025
Answered On Date: 13/11/2025
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Health, following his Department’s ADHD needs assessment commissioned in February 2025, to detail any interim measures being taken to support adults with a diagnosis of ADHD who are currently unable to access assessment, treatment, or prescription medication through the health and social care system.

Answer:

There is currently no regionally commissioned service for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in Northern Ireland. ADHD service provision has evolved differently across Trusts in response to local population demand and expertise within HSC teams. Therefore, there is some specific service provision available for people with ADHD across the Region, but this is not delivered consistently and there are lengthy waiting lists across Trusts.

Despite the lack of regional commissioning arrangements for Adult ADHD services, Belfast; Northern and Southern Eastern Health and Social Care Trusts provide a level of provision.

Belfast Health and Social Care Trust have reconfigured a small resource (0.5 Consultant Psychiatry) from within adult teams to process referrals for ADHD support. Current waiting is in excess of 3500 patients, and waiting times for an ADHD assessment based on current provision, is 8 years from the point of referral.

There is no commissioned Adult ADHD service in the Northern Health and Social Care Trust (NHSCT). In response to demand for Adult ADHD Services, the NHSCT decided to progress with a small, unfunded pilot for service users who have been referred to the Trust, to be placed on a waiting list and then offered an appointment with the Trust for pre-screening. Detailed pre-screening will ensure assessments are offered where there is a high likelihood of Adult ADHD. Communication with individuals on this waiting list (known as the register) commenced in December 2023. Patients are placed on the register in chronological order of date of original referral. It is important to note that all patients placed on waiting lists remain under the care of their GP.

South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (SEHSCT) in response to demand, has progressed a small unfunded service for those patients who have transferred with an existing diagnosis and who are prescribed medication and require monitoring as per NICE Guidelines. For patients awaiting a diagnostic assessment, the demand for ADHD assessment far outweighs capacity, which is resulting in long waiting times of several years.

SEHSCT receives referrals for Adult Mental Health Services via Mental Health Assessment Centres located in Newtownards, Lisburn and Downpatrick. Individuals, including those with a potential/confirmed co-morbid ADHD diagnosis are offered a mental health assessment and are managed via the adult mental health core care pathway, where appropriate.

There is no adult ADHD diagnostic service in the Southern Health and Social Care Trust, therefore there is no waiting list for ADHD diagnostic assessment. If a person is diagnosed with ADHD in children’s services and required ongoing medication management by a Consultant Psychiatrist, they will continue to receive regular reviews by a Consultant Psychiatrist in adult mental health services.

The Western Health and Social Care Trust is not commissioned to deliver ADHD assessment. The pathway for ADHD into WHSCT adult services is through transition from CAMHS to Adult Recovery Services where Trust diagnosis has been delivered within CAMHS and concordance with medication is evident.

The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) estimates that 3-4% of the adults in the UK have ADHD.

The Department commissioned a needs assessment on ADHD in early February 2025, the findings of which will help inform options for a commissioned ADHD service across Trusts, subject to future budget availability.

The needs assessment, which covers both adults and children, will aim to determine the level of demand for a commissioned service, as well as recommendations for what such a service might look like, including potential implementation and staffing costs.

While the initial estimated completion date was the end of June 2025, due to the extensive stakeholder engagement, information gathering and analysis required, it is likely that the work will now be completed by November 2025. Given the importance of this work in informing future ADHD service provision, it is important that sufficient time is given to ensure a robust evidence base and proposals.

In line with the usual process for commissioning of services, any decision to commission adult ADHD services in the future will be based on an assessment of the level of demand for services, and in the context of future budget availability.