Hello, I hope it is ok to post here. This may be a long post, but will try to keep it short and to the point.
Maybe a timeline,
2021, I started the think I may have ADHD, spoke with my GP and agreed and made a referral for me, at the time my local NHS ADHD service was new, so got an initial call a week later! I was in a bad place with my mental health and the nurse said they weren’t going to put me forward for an assessment, and because I didn’t miss appointments and hadn’t accumulated anymore debt I cannot have ADHD.
2023 - The GP agreed to a right to choose referral, I chose psychiatry UK - took around 15 months I think I was assessed late 2024, the assessment was 40 minutes, he spoke over me the entire time and as soon as he heard I had any kind of trauma in my childhood he focused only on this, he said it was just trauma and there is no sign of neurodivergence and discharge me, I accepted this to be the case.
2025 - My GP made a referral to psychiatry UK again but this time for an autistic assessment, this was completely different, she listened and understood and said that trauma should have never been the main subject of the session at all and that I should have been able to express myself, it was only then I thought maybe the first assessment was bad.
After this, I asked my GP for a second opinion this was rejected by the ICB, I went to the ICB for exceptional circumstances due to the new clinical diagnosis, they rejected, I went to the ombudsman who I haven’t heard back from, they said my only option is the local NHS service again which was now a 10 year wait, I emailed that service with some supporting information for my referral, the same woman I spoke to replied and said you sure you really want to do this again???
Last effort I contacted my local MP, they contacted the ICB, and by a stroke of luck, my local ICB has changed and they said I can have a new right to chooses referral as they have different rules to the old one.
I was referred to ADHD360 yesterday, got my portal invite yesterday, completed my onboarding. I am hoping this goes a little better, I don’t know if I do have ADHD, but I do know I deserve a FAIR assessment not a rushed botched one where they don’t ask anything about anything ADHD related!
I don’t know what the point of this is, if you got this far thank you!! but I guess I want to say don’t give up, I am not sure how long the wait is now, or what the outcome will be but I am glad the fighting for it is over, it took everything I had!