A BBC journalist was told 'You do not have ADHD' by an NHS doctor - but private clinics said otherwise.
A leading NHS consultant psychiatrist has met me in person and concluded I don't have ADHD - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Yet, after shorter assessments online, three private clinics have told me I do - and offered me powerful medication.
At the end, she diagnoses me with ADHD - a lifelong condition. It is a neurodevelopmental disorder, with symptoms falling into two categories - inattentiveness, plus hyperactivity and impulsiveness.Things were very different when I met Dr Mike Smith, a consultant psychiatrist who leads a specialist adult ADHD service in the NHS. I told him about my investigation and he said he also had concerns about how some private providers were operating.
Before diagnosing someone with ADHD, it is also vital to establish that any symptoms are having a serious impact on their life. Being distracted, forgetful, losing important objects and having trouble listening and holding attentionBeing restless, fidgety or unable to sit still and always on the goDr Smith - the NHS consultant - told me I hadn't met the clinical threshold for any of the 18 symptoms associated with ADHD.
Harley Psychiatrists' lawyers told the BBC that clinicians also take account of information in pre-assessment forms,. They said: "diagnosis of ADHD… depends on the answers given by the patient" and that there had been "numerous patients [assessed by the clinic] not diagnosed with ADHD". Lawyers for the psychiatrist who prescribed the drugs said their client stood by his diagnosis - and would "normally take between 30 and 45 minutes", but in this case he "did not consider it necessary" because of the psychologist's report.
As I started to research the subject - speaking to NHS staff, specialists, academics, former patients and whistleblower staff at private clinics - I heard a common refrain."I can't imagine them saying, 'No, you don't have it'," says former patient Casey The clinic emailed her saying her "false review and all other correspondence" had been passed on to its "legal department".
By the time I was booked in for my second private assessment with a company called ADHD 360, I had an idea of what to expect. ADHD 360 is a private provider that has won a number of NHS contracts. The assessor totted up my scores from what appeared to be a checklist of symptoms, confirmed that I met the criteria for ADHD, and proceeded to prescribe a higher dose of stimulant medication than had been recommended by Harley Psychiatrists.
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