FAQs on our Adult ADHD Clinic

Can I have an initial appointment to discuss possible ADHD before booking an assessment?

The first hour of the ADHD assessment is a general psychiatric assessment and you can book in for this hour initially. During this time, the clinician will take a general history and often a brief ADHD screening and will discuss any current symptoms or concerns.

If ADHD is suspected, then the clinician will advise you to schedule in the second half of the full ADHD assessment (the two hour appointment).

Will I be asked to complete any questionnaires or provide any other collateral information prior to an assessment?

Questionnaires are sent at the time of booking an appointment and help provide us with some information around the extent and context of your symptoms both presently and in your childhood. These include questionnaires for "informants" to complete who know you well currently and in childhood.

We encourage you to send us any information you may have from your workplace, medical reports or old school reports in addition to your referral letter as they provide extra context for your difficulties but these are not a requirement to proceed with assessment.

How long after my assessment will I receive the diagnostic report?

Following your 3-hour assessment completion, you will then receive a full report; please do allow 3-6 weeks after your final appointment for the report to be sent out.

What is a Shared Care Agreement (SCA)? 

After a period of stabilisation on any medication, care can be handed back to your GP under a Shared Care Agreement protocol for your GP to take over prescribing, should you wish. This is completed by your treating psychiatrist.

A Shared Care Agreement is a standardised informal 'contract' between a treating Psychiatrist and GP, where responsibilities for your care are Shared between the parties, and a mutual route forward agreed.

Alternatively, after the initial assessment the patient can opt to have treatment commenced in the NHS - however this will generally only be done by specialist ADHD services within the NHS (not a patient’s GP) and these services may have their own waiting lists.

Please note some NHS GPs will want confirmation of an Adult ADHD diagnosis by an NHS ADHD specialist, and are not happy to automatically continue medication if it has been initiated in the private sector. It is therefore sensible to speak to your GP prior to entering into the process of Adult ADHD assessment and initiation of treatment to ensure that they would be happy to continue medication initiated in the private sector.

What information is needed to set up a Shared Care Agreement?

A Shared Care Agreement requires a defined set of blood pressure, heart rate, height and weight measures taken, at intervals.

What can I expect the structure of my appointments to be, if I'm seeking continuation of care for an Adult ADHD diagnosis?

For those with established Adult ADHD diagnosis and regimes, you should expect to have one monthly 30-minute appointment. If your medication dose remains suitable and, appointment intervals can reduce to one 30-minute appointment every 2 months.

After a period of stable follow ups where both you and your Psychiatrist are pleased with how matters are progressing, a Shared Care Agreement between your SCC Psychiatrist and GP will be produced, as per NICE guidelines.

Will I need to complete any physical health checks before commencing ADHD medication?

Physical health checks are required when commencing ADHD medication. To ensure that it is safe for you to begin titration, we would request that you obtain a physical health summary from your GP practice and provide this to the treating team at SCC. At the point of initiating medication, you will need to provide baseline physical observations (heart rate, blood pressure, and weight) and the clinician may request your GP conduct a physical examination, bloods and ECG should these be indicated. We are unable to provide these within the clinic, so if your GP cannot facilitate this, you may have to obtain these from a private GP.

As part of the process of medication titration, you will be asked to provide regular physical observations (heart rate and blood pressure) with every change in dose until you are stable on a certain dosage. Following this, monitoring of your physical observations will be required three to six-monthly whilst taking the medication. To record your blood pressure and heart rate, you can purchase a blood pressure monitor yourself, or this can typically be carried out by your GP or local pharmacy.

What information do I need to provide to receive a continuation of care for ADHD?

Patients with a previous diagnosis from a clinician outside of Sloane Court Clinic will need to provide a copy of their original diagnostic report in full as well as documentation outlining their medication previously and at present.

A referral letter is preferrable, but patients can self-refer using our self-referral form which can be provided by our Patient Services team, if this is not possible.

I have a diagnosis of ADHD but cannot find/do not have access to my previous diagnostic report – what happens now?

Without a copy of your original diagnostic report, you will likely need to be reassessed for ADHD under our standard assessment. In very exceptional circumstances, this may be avoidable with previous documentation from past psychiatrists regarding this.

I was assessed for ADHD as a child and was previously on medication, do I need to be reassessed?

If you are on a regular dose of medication at the time of seeing a psychiatrist for continuation of care but cannot find your assessment reports, our clinicians may be able to continue prescribing after a thorough general mental health assessment and obtaining details information about your ADHD medication history.

If you have not been on medication for a protracted period of time, it is likely you will need to be reassessed for ADHD to receive any medication.

How can I arrange getting a letter written for my university/workplace etc.?

Our clinicians are happy to provide letters for your university/workplace and you can ask for this by sending all the details through to patientservices@sloanecourtclinic.com. Your email should include any instructions from your university/workplace, any relevant timelines for the letter and which clinician you are with.

How much can I expect to pay for ADHD medication (including medications themselves, and the cost of private prescribing outside of appointments)?

It is difficult to estimate the cost of medication as this can vary depending on the medication, brand, dose and quantity, but it is worth noting that private prescriptions are considerably more expensive that prescriptions issued on the NHS. 

Private prescriptions will vary in price based on the pharmacy and drug itself. The clinic charges a prescription request fee currently of £25 for any prescriptions requested outside of an appointment, and this includes monthly repeat prescriptions.

Can I be prescribed ADHD medication if I am abroad?

Unfortunately, we are unable to provide prescriptions for patients who are abroad as the General Medical Council does not cover UK psychiatrists to prescribe for anyone outside of the UK.

If you are travelling, we ask that you inform your clinician in plenty of time so they can arrange a prescription for you ahead of your travels.

Please note, as ADHD medications are controlled drugs, each country will have different rules and regulations with regards to what medications can be brought into the country and we advise that you check this before you travel.

If you are travelling through national borders we can provide a letter confirming what you are carrying is prescribed by us, and our contact details, on our letterhead - please ensure you let us know of this requirement at least 14 days before you intend to travel.

I have health insurance, how does this work for ADHD assessments?

This will depend on which insurer you are with and your personal policy with them. You will need to first check with your insurer as to whether they will cover ADHD assessments and follow up treatment.

Can I be assessed for ADHD and ASD at the same time?

Dr Caryl Marshall does offer joint ADHD and ASD assessments. This assessment is 6-hours long in total and is split into two 3-hour appointments and then you will need at least one 30-minute follow up appointment. The cost for the full assessment is £2700 and 30-minute follow up appointments are charged at £245.

I want to be assessed for ADHD alongside another disorder - how does this work?

The first hour of all assessments are a general psychiatric evaluation so if any other disorder emerges, your treating psychiatrist will be able to identify it and suggest referring you to a specialist in that field in conjunction with your ADHD assessment and subsequent treatment.

Other disorders that are routinely screened for are depression, anxiety, panic, OCD, psychosis, and substance misuse. If you have any other mental health concerns, please do express these to your psychiatrist and they will be able to advise as to the best way forward.

We also offer consultations for those looking to begin taking medication for ADHD but are concerned about interactions with other medications they currently take or whose circumstances impose limitations such as pregnancy.