"I feel nothing but completely let down"

After waiting a year to hear back about my ADHD assessment, I was told that the wait would now be indefinite. Feeling like I had no other choice due to the extent that my symptoms were now affecting my day to day life, I went for a private assessment out of pure desperation for help as my GP was unable to offer me help until I got my NHS assessment.

Anyone that has opted for private care will understand the substantial cost this incurs. After just one month on ADHD medication, my life had changed drastically for the better and I was able to function without feeling incredibly distressed and overwhelmed 24/7. As a mum of 3 small children, and also a carer for my eldest who is waiting for an Autism assessment, this help was absolutely necessary in order for me to give my son, and indeed my other children, the help and support they require.

My total monthly medication cost currently is £320 per month. At this point in time, I am faced with the decision of either struggling financially or struggling to the point of complete despair every single day. It’s an absolutely impossible situation to be in.

Now on to the relevant issue. Having spoken to many people with a diagnosis whilst I waited on my own assessment, I found that many took the same path and had a private diagnosis due to the extreme length of waiting lists on the NHS. They were then transferred to their GP on a Shared Care Agreement, freeing them from the expensive private costs of medication.

After my diagnosis, I wrote a lengthy email to my GP practice all but begging them to accept my Shared Care Agreement. What I was met with was an outright denial with no consideration. In my email, I detailed my extreme struggles prior to diagnosis, explaining how I have been given antidepressant after antidepressant for over 13 years with no improvement of apparent depression and anxiety despite this. I explained in detail how much my life had changed since beginning ADHD medication and that being forced to stop them would have a significant impact on my mental health and wellbeing.

I feel there was no care for my wellbeing in the response I received, just a nod to practice policy and a clear we won’t reconsider message.

Considering I am already on the NHS pathway for a diagnosis and have a substantial history of poor mental health, I feel completely and utterly let down by the NHS in this instance. Other people in Scotland and indeed the rest of the UK are being accepted for Shared Care, whilst others like myself are faced with a postcode lottery of care. I feel there is no equality in these policies - how can someone like myself have to pay £300+ per month just to be able to function on a basic level, whilst someone 10 minutes away, in an identical situation, is accepted by their GP and gets their essential medication for free?

I have contacted NHS Lanarkshire in addition to this and they just told me that it was up to each GP practice, which in my view again just creates unequal access to care across the country, and indeed across Lanarkshire. In fact, upon reading the policies sent to me by my GP practice, it states that they do accept shared care but specifically not for ADHD.

I feel nothing but completely let down. I have been left to fend for myself due to the huge waiting times on the NHS. Not one person that I have contacted within the NHS has offered support or pointed me in the direction of support. I have exhausted all options in terms of contacts and have nowhere else to go from here for help. I sincerely urge NHS Lanarkshire to reevaluate their policies surrounding this. In a country that prides itself on its healthcare, this is really disappointing and putting a lot of people in an impossible situation where they’re left with the choice of either putting themselves in debt or struggle to get through each day