ADHD campaigners have accused the NHS of presiding over a “widely failing system” as it emerged that as many as 2.5 million people in England could have the condition, with more than one in five waiting for an assessment.
According to the first figures of their kind published by the health service, 3-4% of adults, and 5% of children and young people, in the country have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
There are 549,000 people in England awaiting an ADHD assessment, according to the figures, which were produced using estimates from the National Institute forHealthand Care Excellence (Nice), and 144,000 of these have been waiting for about two years.
The numbers are the first time an estimate has been made publicly available of how common the condition may be among the population. Of the 2.5 million people estimated to have ADHD across England, more than a third (741,000) are children.
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental disorder with symptoms including impulsiveness, disorganisation and difficulty focusing.Previous researchhas found that prescriptions for ADHD medications have risen 18% year-on-year since the pandemic, increasing from about 25 per 1,000 people in 2019/20, to 42 per 1,000 in 2023/24.
The analysis also found a strong association between factors such as ethnicity and deprivation and ADHD prescription rates. The researchers said south-east England and north-west England, which have significant white populations, show higher prescription counts overall compared with more ethnically diverse regions like the Midlands and London.
Henry Shelford, the chief executive of ADHD UK, said that the NHS is currently presiding over a “wildly failing system” for the condition.
“At ADHD UK we did this same population analysis years ago and arrived at similar numbers,” he said. “While it is great to see NHS England catching up, we need to note that Nice first published guidelines for ADHD in the year 2000. For NHS England to take 25 years to create any population estimate is an expression of their abject failure to properly manage and resource ADHD. That failure has meant ruined lives, wrecked families, and lost lives.
Shelford added: “Worse still, ADHD assessment and support is being excluded, and squeezed, by the government’s NHS improvement schemes. ADHD is excluded from the government’s 18-week waiting list target. ADHD is not counted towards, so excluded from, the required expansion of mental health services in the NHS. NHS England has finally twigged that there are over 2 million of us. It now needs to mandate every area to have an NHS ADHD service that fits our need and numbers.”
Louise Ansari, chief executive of Healthwatch England, said the figures were “a first step in understanding the scale of demand for ADHD care”.
“Our new research highlights that many people with ADHD may simply be going without support,” she said. “Long waits for assessments are one of the reasons people who show ADHD traits don’t seek help, while those waiting for an assessment struggle to navigate the long waits.
“While we welcome today’s publication, however, there is a way to go to ensure data is comprehensive and robust. A move to official waiting list data in the longer term would give a clearer picture of waiting times, including who is experiencing the longest waits and why.”
NHS England has been approached for comment.