There have been reports of healthcare being rationed in various media. We note, however that the Government has said this is wrong.
From today’s news:
Health minister Simon Burns described such practices as “unacceptable”.
“If local health bodies stop patients from having treatments on the basis of cost alone, we will take action against them.”
Full story here:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-18495981
The article has a space for readers to write in their own experiences. Please could anyone with ADHD (or suspected ADHD) who has had difficulty or specifically is now having trouble getting a referral write in. It could make a huge difference. No matter that the article doesn’t mention any mental health issues, they are equally valid when it comes to needing treatment and this needs to be said.
AADD-UK
adhdbrighton
aethelreadtheunready
veillantif
yeah i had to go to the MP’s to get anything out of the PCT, weird as they had agreed to fund but didn’t want to release the money. there is no doubt in my mind that the NHS is not run by people who care about people – and i work for them !
Posted by 8lois8 | August 7, 2012, 1:27 pmI’ve aproached my GP in South Wales suggesting I may be affected by ADD. My Dr agrees that I match some of the symptoms, but after consulting their seniors told me the local Mental Health team are underfunded and won’t accept a referal. But if I’d still been in education, this may not have been the case.
I’m looking for a private consultation, but South Wales doesn’t seem to have a single private specialist!
Posted by Luke | July 12, 2012, 2:53 pmso a shortened version with no names, my doctors would not send me to a psychiatrist for refferral about ADHD, i discussed my thoughts on ADHD, i asked for meds i was given in 1994 because i was getting in such a state, , but was told they couldnt prescribe then as they were not psychiatrist,well i knew that anyway, i asked to refferred to one,so they could prescribe them, no action was taken , i asked in the end for a private letter of refferral at my own expence, funnily enough this they did, i was given 5 types of anti depressants over two years of which none were helping infact making anxieties much worse, there was lots of past eveidnce in my medical records to back that up, again ignored, there was evidence in my medical records that the medication i was given in 1994 did help to some degree, i refused to take any more antidepressants, i had lost all faith, so the doctor refused to sign me off sick even though he had diagnosed me with sever depression, so i couldnt save the money for the refferral i fell out with them and went to a new doctors surgery, funnily enough he wouldnt reffere me either, and to ad insult to injury, i then had to sell all my stuff to afford a private refferral, that doctor to this day has still not responded to my specialist for medical records, i was given a trial of medication which in one hour gave me the relief i was fighting to get, 25 years of being given ant depressants that never helped, every year my life spiraling out of control, and doctors fire fighting secondary symptoms, i needed it to stop, and got and am still getting no help, no benefits, and no hope and for the price of consultation a little pill, my life is ruined, does any of this sound right, im not taking anything away from anybody else, but some of the stories of what some people are getting treatment for is disgusting, they should be ashamed of their budget cuts and giving away free treatment to any tom dick or harry that show’s up on our shores, what does the NHS stand for No Healthcare Scandal if you ask me,
Posted by christopher squires | June 22, 2012, 5:22 pmI have an amazing story of incompetance, ignorance , and im sure finance based decision making, thats still on going, i think you all would be disgusted by my treatment, and i think it would make a huge difference for this to be published, however for legal reasons i cant just post it on here, if i am provided with an e mail address for your legal team to take a look, i would be happy to have it published, its all going to come out one way or another, i am at the end of my teather with it quite frankly, so either your readers or a coroner will have to read it, thats how bad its got,
Posted by christopher Squires | June 19, 2012, 12:10 pmAlas we are not big enough yet to have a ‘legal team’. Perhaps someone from a large enough news organisation might want to talk to you from reading this.
Posted by AADD-UK | June 19, 2012, 12:19 pmfrom my experience mental heath is something nobody wants to listen or talk about, i think the powers that be think if we dont answere, it will all go away, i would love someone to prove that statement wrong , however i have recieved no replies for plea’s for help, even from mental health charities such as “mind” and a multitude of others i have approached,
Posted by chris squires | June 29, 2012, 2:12 pmI was diagnosed with ADD in 1994. This consultant has since retired. On the advice of another consultant, I tried living without medication, in a demanding job, from 2004 to 2006. In 2006 it was clear that this was not working, and so I saw my local GP. She tried to obtain funding for me to be seen by an ADD specialist, and I found for her contact details for Professor Ascherson at the Maudlsley. My NHS Trust would not finance my seeing him. My GP did request and get telephone advice from him. I was referred by my GP to the local psychiatric service where there is no ADD or ADHD specialist. From here my GP was given permission to prescribe methylphenidate. In 2009 I was again being pressurised to give up or seriously restrict my medication. I tried again without medication until the present time.The result is that I now live with intractable chaos in all areas of my life. I have very recently approached my GP again, having found details of an adult ADD centre in Bristol, not far from where I live. My GP has contacted a doctor at this Bristol centre, who wrote back saying that my being seen there would cost my local health trust more than £600. My GP has offered me as the only option a further referral to the local psychiatric service where there is no specialist in ADD/ADHD. I am not sure whether the local GPs are even willing to attempt to get a referral for me to the Bristol adult ADD centre. I think at our most recent meeting I was being told that there was no hope of being seen there on the basis of my local GP service being unwilling to approach the local NHS Trust with a request for funding. When I spoke to a consultant at the Bristol centre before approaching my GP with details of this centre, the Bristol consultant told me that I could reach for the stars if I wished, but I was unlikely to be successful. He also told me that it was part of the NHS Charter that appropriate and timely treatment should be available to patients. I think that I have ADD rather than ADHD, as described in a peer reviewed paper by Adele Diamond.This is simply a deficiency condition, with insufficient dopamine being produced by the patient’s system. In my private estimation, my condition has features in common with Parkinson’s disorder, except that it has been lifelong and does not worsen. I have no hope of this being recognised by my local psychiatric service. Sad and Desperate, Somerset.
Posted by Valerie R. Simper | June 19, 2012, 11:34 amAgain, please please post this on the BBC article (link above), the public need to hear.
Posted by AADD-UK | June 19, 2012, 11:44 ami have had an awful experience with the NHS. I was diagnosed 4 years through the Maudsley in London and I requested to see them again to get help with how I can cope with my ADHD as I’ve been put on medication but have had no help in terms of what all this means. The local PCT refused to the pay the cost and my local doctor suggested I get a job in Tesco stacking shelves rather than complete my degree that I was working on at the time?? Bad advice for someone with ADHD?! I highlighted to my doctor that the NHS guidelines claim that medication was not the only answer and that other solutions should be incorporated, to which she laughed and said the guidelines were a waste of time. She also said I didn’t look like someone with ADHD and that she had patients with real problems, such as back complaints. Anyway, yes I have been refused referral to get more help based on local funding but also probably a lack of understanding with regards to ADHD.
Posted by Michelle | June 19, 2012, 10:33 amPlease please post this on the BBC article (link above), the public need to hear.
Posted by AADD-UK | June 19, 2012, 11:09 amyes stacking shelves at tesco’s, great for someone who’s settled and doesnt want anything too mentally demanding, im not having a go at anyone who works at tesco’s, but i think your doctor seems to be belittleing peole who do, ive done a bit of agency work and found people from all walks of life doing jobs beneath their capability, infact i wish i was settled enough to stack shelves, just to stay in a job for 5 years would be amazing for me, , ive had 40 jobs in 25 years, tesco’s wouldnt even take me on now, the financial up and down because of the type of problems people with ADD face is crushing, and i must admit, the cost to the health services for ignoring this problem must be phenomenal,
Posted by chris squires | June 29, 2012, 7:28 am