Waiting
Waiting for an ADHD assessment: what you can do now
ADHD assessment waits in England can run to months or years. The latest figures, and 5 things you can do now, at work, at school and for your wellbeing.
Assessment
Right to Choose for an ADHD assessment in England
In England, you can usually choose which NHS-funded provider assesses you for ADHD. Here's how it works, what to say to your GP and what's changed.
In short
- Start with your GP. The right applies when a GP refers you.
- Your GP must agree the referral is clinically appropriate.
- The provider needs an NHS contract for the service. It doesn't have to be in your area.
- It covers adults and children, in England only.
- Some areas have paused or managed Right to Choose activity. Ask what applies where you live.
What Right to Choose is
In most cases in England, you have a legal right to choose your provider and clinical team for your first mental health appointment. This has applied to mental health since 2014.
NHS England's guidance says ADHD assessments can be covered, including assessments done remotely.
The NHS adult ADHD page says you may be able to find a clinic with a shorter waiting list this way. You can ask for an NHS appointment at any clinic, including a private one, if it provides ADHD services for the NHS in England.
When it applies
It applies when:
- a GP refers you. A dentist or optometrist referral also counts. Self-referrals don't.
- your GP agrees the referral is clinically appropriate. That's a clinical judgement, made within NICE guidance.
- the provider holds an NHS Standard Contract for the service you need, with any integrated care board (ICB) or NHS England. It can be outside your local area.
Your GP can refer you to a provider even if it isn't listed on the NHS e-Referral Service.
When it doesn't apply
The NHS says you don't have a legal right to choose if:
- you need urgent, emergency or crisis treatment
- you're already having care for the condition you've been referred for, and it's an onward referral
- you're in prison, or on temporary release from prison
- you're detained somewhere like a court, secure children's home or immigration removal centre
- you're serving in the armed forces
- you're being held in hospital under the Mental Health Act 1983
Children and young people
The NHS Choice Framework applies to people of all ages in England. The NHS children's ADHD page also mentions Right to Choose.
A referral from a school or SENCO doesn't trigger the right. It needs to come through your child's GP.
What to say to your GP
The GP should explain which providers are available and what each one offers. You could say:
What you could say
- "I'd like to use my legal right to choose my provider for an ADHD assessment."
- "Do you agree a referral for an assessment is clinically appropriate for me?"
- "I'd like to be referred to [provider]. It has an NHS contract for [adult or children's] ADHD assessment."
- "If it isn't on the e-Referral Service, can you refer me outside it?"
- "If you can't refer me there, could you tell me why?"
Once you and your GP agree a shortlist, you can compare providers' waiting times and Care Quality Commission (CQC) ratings. Use Manage your referral or the NHS e-Referral Service.
What's changed in 2025 and 2026
- The legal right hasn't changed. In May 2026, the government said "no changes are being made to this legal right".
- Some areas manage numbers. In October 2025, NHS England advised ICBs they can agree activity plans with each provider. The government has confirmed that some ICBs have paused or managed Right to Choose activity.
- Reports should be accepted. From April 2026, NHS England payment guidance says ADHD reports from Right to Choose providers should be accepted by NHS-funded titration services, unless there's a clear clinical reason not to. Titration services start and adjust ADHD medicine.
- A review is under way. An independent review of ADHD, autism and mental health services in England published an interim report in June 2026. Its final report hadn't been published when we checked.
If you're not offered a choice
Talk to the person who referred you first. If that doesn't sort it out, you can complain to your ICB. If you're still unhappy, you can go to the Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman.
In August 2026, the Ombudsman published a case where a GP practice wrongly insisted on a local ADHD service. The person should have been allowed to choose another NHS-funded provider.
Right to Choose applies in England. The NHS works differently in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Book a GP appointment and ask for a Right to Choose referral. Ask which providers are open to you, and what each one's wait is.
Sources
- NHS, How to access mental health services (reviewed 5 May 2026)
- GOV.UK, The NHS Choice Framework (updated 23 October 2024)
- NHS England, Patient choice guidance (date not shown)
- NHS, ADHD in adults (reviewed 19 March 2025)
- NHS, ADHD in children and young people (reviewed 19 March 2025)
- NHS, Your choices in the NHS (reviewed 10 May 2023)
- UK Parliament, Written question 902: ADHD and Autism (answered 22 May 2026)
- NHS England, ADHD service delivery and prioritisation: advice to systems (October 2025)
- NHS England, 2026/27 NHS Payment Scheme: ADHD and autism diagnostic assessment services payment guidance (March 2026)
- Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman, Improving access to ADHD and autism assessment and treatment (published 26 August 2026)
- GOV.UK, Independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism (updated 23 September 2026)
Last checked September 2026. Next check December 2026.
This guide gives general information. It isn't medical advice, and it can't tell you what's right for you. No clinic, provider or brand pays to appear here, and we don't take referral fees.
If you need help now
Questions about medicines, doses or running out? Talk to your prescriber or a pharmacist, or call NHS 111.
If you're having thoughts of harming yourself, you don't have to cope alone. Call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time, or call 999 if you're in immediate danger.
For urgent help, call 111 and select the mental health option. 111 will tell you the right place to get help. You may be able to speak to a trained mental health professional over the phone.
Source: NHS, Where to get urgent help for mental health. Last checked September 2026.
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