Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Service

Leeds Adult ADHD Service temporarily closed to non-urgent new referrals from 11 October 2024

The Leeds Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Service in conjunction with the Leeds Office of the West Yorkshire Integrated Care Board is taking action to address extremely high levels of demand and an unsustainably long waiting list. We have taken the decision to temporarily close to new referrals from 11 October 2024.

We are currently holding a waiting list of around 4,000 people and we are only able to see and assess around 16 people per month. The waiting list has been increasing by around 170 new referrals each month and is therefore unsustainable. Anyone new joining the waiting list today would be waiting well over 10 years to be seen by us.

Therefore, we have decided to temporarily suspend accepting new referrals from 11 October 2024. We want to be open and honest about this situation. 

What does this mean for patients?

For those already on our waiting list, we will contact you when we are able to offer you a date for assessment. Our service is prioritising patients with the most urgent clinical needs, which means that if your symptoms are considered mild or moderate it is likely that wait will still be very long.

We have posted a range of information about other forms of advice and support on our website.

We will analyse our waiting list and prioritise assessments for people with the highest clinical need as quickly as we can. Whilst we are doing this, we will be working with local health partners to develop a new care pathway for adult ADHD services in Leeds that hopefully meets the demand.

We have written to all the patients on our waiting list about this, including how they can register interest for a ‘Right to Choose’ conversation. Some of those letters have been returned as the addressee details were incorrect. Therefore, if you believe you are on our waiting list and have not received such a letter, please let our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) team know via pals.lypft@nhs.net.

If you want to contact the Leeds Adult ADHD team or the NHS Trust we are part of, please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service by calling 0800 052 5790 or email pals.lypft@nhs.net.

We apologise for any distress this might cause you and we thank you for your patience.

Frequently asked questions

We have made a list of some frequently asked questions and provided some short answers to those in this word document. We will continue to update this as we receive more questions.

ADHD Medication shortages

There are intermittent supply shortages of medications prescribed to help manage ADHD symptoms. This information has been produced to help our service users and their carers understand the shortage and how it may impact them.

What service users can do

If you are experiencing issues with getting hold of your supply of medication, we are asking you to:

• Check how much medication you have.
• Make sure you order your next supply in plenty of time.
• Only order medicine that you need, to help pharmacies manage supplies. If you over order and stockpile, this can make supply issues worse.
• Try a few different pharmacies in your local area if you cannot obtain your prescription from your usual pharmacy. You can search for your nearest pharmacies on the nhs.uk website. 

What medicines are affected by the shortages?

Any of the medicines which are used to manage ADHD may be affected by shortages. The most up to date information regarding these shortages is available on the SPS website at: https://www.sps.nhs.uk/articles/prescribing-available-medicines-to-treat-adhd/

For service users and carers:

There may be issues with supply of your medication, there are suitable alternatives available. If you are struggling to obtain a supply of your usual medication speak to:

• Your community pharmacist: they will be able to advise you regarding which products are currently available.
• Your usual prescriber: they will be able to make any necessary adjustments to your prescription to let you continue receiving treatment.

For primary care colleagues:

There is advice on the management of supply interruptions on the SPS website:

Continuing management of the ADHD medicines shortage – SPS – Specialist Pharmacy Service – The first stop for professional medicines advice

Where it is not possible to maintain a supply of the original or bioequivalent medication advice can be sought from the ADHD team on a suitable alternative: adhd.lypft@nhs.net. Referrals to the service for diagnosis / initiation of treatment are not affected by these shortages.