ADHD Assessment and Shared Care Prescribing Policy

1. Introduction 

This policy outlines how Trumpington Street Medical Practice will support you seeking assessment and treatment for Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), including how we manage referrals, prescribing, and shared care.

2. ADHD Assessment Options

If you believe you or your child may have ADHD, you can explore the following options for assessment:

Referral to the Local NHS ADHD Service

We can refer you to the Cambridge & Peterborough NHS adult ADHD clinic, or for under 18’s, the Neurodevelopment Service at Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS). This is the only route we support for shared care prescribing. Please be aware that waiting times are over 2 years

NHS Right to Choose or Private Clinics

We can refer you to a Right to Choose provider or you can access a private clinic without a referral but it is important to know that we do not enter into shared care prescribing arrangements with any private or Right to Choose ADHD clinics. If you choose one of these routes, we strongly recommend that:

• The assessment is conducted by a UK-based consultant psychiatrist with ADHD expertise
• The provider offers ongoing follow-up care, including annual reviews.
• You keep a copy of your full ADHD assessment report.

These clinics may request that observations are done prior to referral. These can include a height and weight (which you can do yourself) and a blood pressure and pulse rate (these can be measured at your local pharmacy). Occasionally clinics ask for extra tests such as a blood test and ECG and these need to be performed by the clinic themselves, we do not do these in the surgery. It is the responsibility of the Right to Choose or private clinic to have their own arrangements in place for any investigations they require prior to their assessment.

How to request on ADHD assessment

If you would like to be referred on the NHS locally please send an online medical query form and we will send you a questionnaire and form for you to complete.

If you would like to be referred to an NHS Right to Choose provider, please send an online medical query form on our website and our secretarial team will send you more information. Alternatively, please go on to the website of your chosen provider, download and complete the relevant forms/questionnaires (these vary from provider to provider) and send them to us via an online consultation on our website.

3. Shared Care Prescribing Policy 

We only offer shared care prescribing for ADHD medications under the following conditions:

• You have been assessed and are currently being followed up by the local NHS ADHD service
• You are already being prescribed ADHD medication by Trumpington Street Medical Practice and the surgery shares care with either a private or a Right to Choose provider. You will need to have annual medication reviews with your UK based consultant psychiatrist in order for us to continue prescribing. If this annual review has not been completed, you will need to arrange one within 3 months. If the review is not arranged within this timeframe, prescribing will be paused until the review is completed.

We do not share care if:

• You have been assessed privately or by Right to Choose clinics (unless we are already prescribing medication for you). 
• You have been assessed privately or by Right to Choose clinics and you have been receiving your medication from another GP surgery.
• You have been assessed outside the UK and you have been receiving your medication from your doctor abroad. 
• In these circumstances, please let us know if you would like us to refer you to the local ADHD service for reassessment and review and for them to request shared care with us. We will not be able to issue medication until you have been seen by the local NHS ADHD clinic and shared care has been entered into.

4. Patients Already Receiving ADHD Medication

If your care is with the local NHS ADHD service, we will continue prescribing under shared care where clinically appropriate.

If your care is through a Right to Choose provider or private clinic and you are already receiving prescriptions under a shared care arrangement, we will continue prescribing as long as you have an annual review with your UK based consultant psychiatrist. If you have not had this review, you must arrange one within 3 months. If no review is completed within this period, we will not be able to continue prescribing. This is because this medication is not a GP initiated medication, and needs to be prescribed on an ongoing basis with input from a specialist (a consultant psychiatrist) and us. If you do not have the annual review, your care is not shared and we cannot continue prescribing. 

We strongly recommend that patients under private or Right to Choose providers are referred to the local NHS ADHD service for formal transfer of care. Please contact us if you would like us to do this for you. Please attach a copy of your diagnosis and latest letters. 

5. Responsibilities for Patients in Shared Care 

For all patients

Please ensure you provide up to date observations of pulse, blood pressure and weight when requested to. 

For those patients under the care of the NHS ADHD service please

Attend your scheduled reviews.

For those patients who we had existing shared care prescribing with

Please attend your UK based consultant psychiatrist review, if this is not within the last year, please arrange this as soon as possible or by the latest within 3 months

Provide documentation of this review to the practice.

Retain and provide copies of ADHD assessments and clinical follow-up.

6. Summary 

Trumpington Street Medical Practice is committed to safe, high-quality care for patients with ADHD.

We only offer shared care with local NHS ADHD services.

We do not share care with private or NHS Right to Choose clinics 

Existing shared care patients under Right to Choose or private providers must have an annual review with a UK based consultant psychiatrist. We will not be able to continue prescribing medication if this review doesn’t happen. 

Patients under the care of private or Right to Choose clinics would ideally be referred to the local NHS ADHD service for continuity and safety of care, please contact us if you would like to be referred. 

• Policy review date: 17 June 2025
• Next review due: June 2026