Long waits for child ADHD assessments impacting mental wellbeing
Families are feeling stressed, powerless and ‘forever in limbo’ while stuck in long waits for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) assessments, researchers have reported.
More clarity around waiting times and better signposting to support could help alleviate some of those difficulties, they concluded.
NHS figures show must children under the age of 17 wait for more than a year for an ADHD assessment with Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
Data from the end of September shows more than 63% had spent more than a year on the list, and a third have been waiting over two years.
A team at University of Southampton and King’s College London carrying out in-depth interviews with parents going through the process found that lengthy wait times negatively impacted the mental health and wellbeing of both the parents and the child.
In interviews with 41 parents whose child was aged 5 to 11 years who had waited a long time for assessment – or were still waiting – parents said communication about wait time status was either non-existent or unsatisfactory.
The uncertainty led them to feelings of powerlessness, anxiety and being forgotten, the researchers reported.
Parents reported that finding a crisis care contact was a struggle, or when they did get support, it was inadequate.
But they felt under pressure to get a diagnosis access support or treatment, for example at school.
Interviewees often reported a disparity between the support they felt they needed and the support they received, the researchers reported in the Health Expectations journal.
Study lead Dr Ellen Hedstrom, a research fellow at the University of Southampton, said CAMHS was experiencing ‘enormous demand’.
‘Staff working in these services are under huge pressure, and in-turn, parents and their children, are also suffering – with some concern that long wait times could exacerbate ADHD symptoms,’ she said.
Some parents in the study were grappling with whether they should try and find the money to go private, the researchers noted.
But parents did also have also empathy for healthcare staff and understood that clinical services were under enormous strain, they added.
Regular updates of their status on the waiting list, a digitised system where parents could check progress, or book appointments, and a named keyworker for help and support while waiting, were all suggested by parents as ways to help mitigate stress.
But they also called for help with skills and strategies to use in managing the behaviour of their children.
‘Many tools and platforms already exist or could be developed to meet the needs of CAMHS, Dr Hedstrom added.
‘This would not only give parents more autonomy in the way that they manage their time on a wait list and how they access much-needed information, but also alleviate the burden on mental health services, resulting in a more efficient service.’
The Government has commissioned an independent review into rising diagnoses of ADHD and autism, as well as other mental health conditions in England.
It will look at the reasons behind the growing prevalence and the knock-on demand for services in both adults and children.
It comes after a report warned that the NHS has become ‘heavily dependent’ on private ADHD providers, who are pushing ICBs massively over budget with little oversight.
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