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No support available whatsoever

Posted By Ruby93

"No support available whatsoever"

About: General Practices in Grampian Mental Health / Community Adult Mental Health Services

(as a service user),

So having previously been referred to Cornhill in Aberdeen for an ADHD referral I waited 2 years and I was no further forward in this wait time.

I moved out of Aberdeenshire for 6 months for work and I was then removed from the waiting list. Since my return to Aberdeen I have asked my GP if I can be re-referred I was told that there was a stop to referrals and it likely won’t be possible for another year.

The doctor told me they'd been personally told not to refer any other patients for possible diagnosis even though I’ve been through the process and quite clearly struggled with ADHD symptoms.

I asked the doctor if there was any alternative support and they slapped their leg and said nope.

I do find it upsetting I had actively try pull solutions from the doctor. I left with no solution and no suggestions of anything to try.

I felt like the doctor didn’t quite care about my struggles, and was reading from a manuscript. I find it hard to believe that there is no support available whatsoever for individuals with ADHD. 

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Responses

Response from Fiona Tejeda, Lead Nurse, Mental Health & Learning Disabilities Service, NHS Grampian 2 weeks ago
Fiona Tejeda
Lead Nurse, Mental Health & Learning Disabilities Service,
NHS Grampian

Submitted on 03/05/2024 at 11:44
Published on Care Opinion at 12:19

picture of Fiona Tejeda

Dear Ruby 93,

Thank you for taking the time to share your experience, I am saddened to read it has been such a struggle for you to access the assessment and services you are seeking.

Within NHS Grampian our Medicine Management committee had shared advice to temporarily restrict commencement of new patients to our service seeking medical management of ADHD.

This was to manage the global pressure on ADHD medication supply. This remains under review and we hope this will be lifted as soon as possible.

In Aberdeen City we are continuing to accept referrals for assessment for ADHD and if this is what you a re seeking I would suggest returning to your GP to ask again for a referral with this update to highlight our willingness to accept such a referral.

We do however have a waitlist, I would suggest that your previous place on a NHS Grampian Waitlist could be highlighted to see if this can be factored in.

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Response from ACVO TSI 3 days ago
ACVO TSI

Submitted on 15/05/2024 at 10:46
Published on Care Opinion at 10:50

Good morning

I am sorry to read of your experience. I wanted to come to say that there is support out there for Adults with ADHD (or suspected) and thought I would share some of these supports in the Third Sector.

Firstly I would get in touch with SensationAll who run support groups for adults where no formal diagnosis is required before accessing the services. You can find out more about the services they provide here: https://www.sensationall.org.uk/

Scottish ADHD Coalition provide online resources and information on ADHD, providing a range of free resources for individuals, parents and carers on how to best support. you can find them here: https://www.scottishadhdcoalition.org/

The Open University offers a free introductory course on Understanding ADHD.

https://www.open.edu/openlearn/health-sports-psychology/understanding-adhd/content-section-0?active-tab=description-tab

I hope you find some of this information useful.

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