23rd January - Jack Speaks on ADHD Diagnosis

Earlier this week, I spoke in a debate about ADHD diagnosis.

ADHD diagnosis is an uphill battle. It can take years, and people are forced to battle a system which is stacked against them.

But, for many people, receiving a diagnosis is not the end of the fight, it is the start of a new one.

You can watch my speech here.

Below is my speech in full:

I am grateful to my honourable friend for bringing this important debate to the House.

He has spoken powerfully about the long and agonising waits many people must endure to get an ADHD diagnosis.

Far too often, securing an ADHD diagnosis is an uphill battle. It can take years, and people are forced to battle a system that is stacked against them.

But, today, I want to focus on what happens next. Because, for many people, receiving a diagnosis is not the end of the fight. In many cases, it is the start of a new one.

For people with ADHD, medication can be life-changing.

It can mean – finally, after years of struggle – being able to hold down a job, manage relationships, finish their homework on time, stay on top of daily tasks and maintain their mental wellbeing.

It can mean finally being able to fulfil their potential.

However, time and time again, I hear from people who, after finally securing that elusive diagnosis, then encounter a whole new set of barriers preventing them accessing the treatment they are entitled to.

The moment of finally getting diagnosed – what should be a transformational moment in someone’s life – becomes the start of another enormous struggle.

Constituents tell me of needing to battle with their GP to get them to take over shared care and give them NHS prescriptions, even where the assessment and titration were undertaken via Right to Choose.

They’ve told me about how devastated they felt after waiting for a diagnosis, waiting again for titration, only to then be rejected by their GP.

In January 2025, local medical committees (LMCs) in Suffolk and Essex advised GPs to stop delivering ADHD treatment under shared care agreements, returning the responsibility for prescribing, testing, and monitoring of ADHD medications to specialist services.

A survey by Healthwatch Suffolk of people’s experiences of the changes to shared care found that just 40% had received prescriptions or monitoring from their GP.

Of these, 69% said their GP had already stopped or would soon stop providing this support.

Most received only two or three months’ notice that their shared care agreement was ending. Some had no notice at all.

Patients are left in limbo. They’ve been diagnosed, maybe even stabilised on medication, and are suddenly told their shared care agreement is ending – often without any explanation.

People are left confused and anxious. They are given unclear or little to no information. Many face difficulties accessing the medication they have been told they need.

And, in some instances, people are left without access to medication whatsoever.

I have read some truly heartbreaking letters from terrified patients and their families, panic-stricken at the prospect of being left without the medicine they need to function every day.

Others are forced to cover the full cost of their prescriptions. Having turned in desperation to the private sector for a diagnosis – the result of endless waits on the NHS, and often at immense cost and personal sacrifice – they are left with ongoing monthly expenses.

Expenses they did not anticipate and often cannot afford.

For families who saved every penny they could, this puts them under enormous financial strain.

This is not acceptable. We cannot go on like this.

That is why it is so important that this Government does the necessary work to improve outcomes for people with ADHD.

The medium-term planning framework, for example, has set an expectation for local integrated care boards (ICBs) and trusts to improve access, experience, and outcomes for ADHD services over the next three years, with a particular focus on improving quality and productivity. This is an essential step.

I am also looking forward to hearing the Government’s response to the ADHD taskforce’s recommendations, and I welcome the launch of the independent review into the prevalence and support for mental health conditions, ADHD and autism.

I know the review will look at how the health system currently delivers mental health, ADHD and autism services to help ensure children and adults can get the right support.

I am particularly pleased that the review will work with people with lived experience to identify challenges and find solutions. I look forward to seeing the result of this work.

Reducing waiting times for assessment and diagnosis is absolutely critical, but that work is rendered futile if we do not also address the crisis of access to medication and support.

For too many of my constituents, the hardest part of their ADHD journey did not end with diagnosis. It began there.

What should have been a positive ending was the start of another gruelling and back-breaking fight against a system that does not work for them. This needs to change.