ADHD Centre Frequently Asked Questions

The ADHD Centre was set up in 2009 and is a UK based private health care service that specialises in the evidence-based diagnosis and treatment of ADHD. We have a dedicated and expertly picked team of ADHD specialist Psychiatrists, Psychologists and Behavioural Coaches ready to help you get on top of your symptoms and start flourishing in all areas of your life

Assessments are undertaken by Consultant Psychiatrists (not psychologists) who specialise in ADHD in adults and / or children with ADHD.

We can offer assessments in our London, or Manchester clinics or via Zoom

The assessment process is exactly the same, the only difference is that with a Zoom assessment it is not done in a clinic room sat with the consultant. Please note for Zoom Appointments you need to be in the United Kingdom at the time of the appointment.

We can normally offer an appointment within 2 weeks, though at busy times of year the wait may be a little longer.

We can only assess children from the age of 5 years old.

• Your assessment for ADHD would be conducted by one of our specialist ADHD Consultant Psychiatrists either in person or online via zoom for healthcare.
• The appointment is around 60 – 90 minutes for adults and 90-120 minutes for children under 18 (you are more than welcome to bring someone with you to the appointment if you wish).
• Prior to the appointment, we will ask you to complete some paperwork:

Forms for adult assessments:

• Registration form – general information, contact details, health history etc. for the person being assessed and includes a Self-Report Scale – this is a list of questions with tick box answers about how you are finding things today.
• Adult Collateral form – to be completed by someone who knows you as an adult.
• Childhood Collateral form – to be completed by someone who knew you as a child

We do ask that different people complete the Adult & Childhood collateral forms. 

If you have no one to ask to complete the adult / childhood collateral forms, then we would ask if you have copies of any old school reports available. We also offer an objective test called a QBCheck for clients without any childhood collateral history. There is an additional cost for this. More information can be found here https://www.adhdcentre.co.uk/qb-check/

Forms for child assessments:

• Registration form (general information, contact details, health history etc) for the person being assessed.
• Conners questionnaire forms to be completed by parents, teachers & child (if they are
  over 8 years old).
• Some of our consultants also request further forms which would be emailed at the time of booking an appointment.

• After your assessment, you will receive a clinic letter from your consultant, usually
  within 2 weeks, which will detail the assessment, the outcome, and a suggested
  treatment plan.
• Following your assessment we will send you, via secure email, a detailed report from your Consultant Psychiatrist, outlining any diagnosis and treatment plan details. We will aim to send this within 2 weeks of your assessment.

Medication info:

• If your treatment plan recommends a trial of medication then we will outline any baseline health checks that are required (such as blood pressure, pulse, weight, blood tests, ECG, cardiovascular examination) that can be booked with your GP practice and returned to us for your consultant to review before your 1st follow up appointment is offered*
• If you are initiated on a medication trial, then you will usually require in average between 3-6 follow-up appointments to reach the correct dose. NICE and GMC guidelines recommend a review by a specialist after each dose titration for safe prescribing practice.
• During the follow-up appointment, your Consultant Psychiatrist will monitor your response to treatment, any adverse side effects, physical observations (BP, pulse and weight). They will communicate with your GP informing them of your progress as per GMC guidelines on safe prescribing.
  *Clients will be required to pay for follow-up appointments and private prescriptions fees during this time*
• Once you are established on a stable medication regime, then we can set up a shared care agreement with your GP, if they are willing to accept this. We have standard protocol documents for this procedure.
  At this stage, your GP would then take over the prescribing of any medication. This would mean that your prescription would then become an NHS prescription and charged at their lower, standard rat

* Please note we cannot guarantee a Share Care arrangement with your GP, but most of our clients that go down the medication route do end up on a shared care. We would suggest you discuss this with your GP in advance*

Most GPs are willing to prescribe ADHD medication, however, they normally require you to be started on your medication by your private consultant. Once you are settled on a medication and dose, we can then ask your GP to take over prescribing under a Share Care Agreement. Under the terms of the Share Care Agreement, you would need to come back to the ADHD Centre for a review every 6 months.

Shared Care Agreement

• Once a Shared Care Agreement has been set up, your Consultant Psychiatrist will still be responsible for monitoring your ongoing treatment and you will be required to have 6 monthly follow up review appointments with your Consultant Psychiatrist as part of the Shared Care Agreement.
• You can transfer your care at any point in full to NHS services, if these are available in your area. You are advised to discuss this directly with your GP.

Please note we cannot guarantee a Share Care arrangement with your GP, but most of our clients that go down the medication route do end up on a shared care. We would suggest you discuss this with your GP in advance

Yes, we can offer a free introductory coaching call as part of the initial assessment to explain how our specialist behavioural coaching programme can also help you as well as medical treatments for ADHD. This can be booked after your assessment. We will ask you to fill in a coaching referral form beforehand to help focus the call on what you struggle with and what your goals are.

We also offer an online essential mindfulness course for help with specific ADHD symptoms. Details of this can be found here  https://www.adhdcentre.co.uk/mindfulness-membership/

We welcome appointments from non-UK residents; however, you would need to be in the United Kingdom at the time of any appointment with the ADHD Centre.

The same applies to UK residents currently abroad, you would need to be in the UK at the time of any appointment.

This is for insurance and indemnity purposes.

We are unable to offer payment plans or discounts. Full payment for all appointments is taken at the point of booking.

As the diagnosis is done by a GMC registered Consultant Psychiatrist specialising in ADHD there is no reason why this will not be recognised by a school, college or your GP.

Your consultant will note any reasonable adjustments they feel necessary for school, college or university in your assessment letter.

Whilst our assessments are specifically for ADHD, your consultant will also undertake a general psychiatric assessment and note any other common co-morbid psychiatric
conditions which maybe contributing to your current difficulties, such as anxiety, depression, personality difficulties.

No, we are unable to issue prescriptions at the assessment appointment. Before being able to prescribe we will require you to have some blood tests, ECG and a cardiovascular assessment done before we can prescribe. These are to check for any underlying conditions which may contraindicate

Any medication we can prescribe and for your clinical safety, in accordance with NICE and GMC guidelines. Once the test results are back you will need a follow-up appointment with your consultant to start you on medication. This follow-up appointment is chargeable.

If you have any questions or queries for your consultant, please email  [email protected] and they will see the email.