ADHD / Autism Referral Process

If you are requesting a referral for ADHD assessment it is essential that you read everything on this page carefully otherwise you might not get the help you need. Referral for assessment for ADHD for adults and children can be a complex process. This page is designed to help you through it as smoothly as possible. Please also familiarise yourself with March 2026 update from the HIOW ICB regarding the waiting lists for right to choose.

You can be referred for an ADHD assessment in one of three ways:

1. Referral to local NHS services

Although the waiting times are quite long, these services are designed to work well with local GPs. There aren't usually any issues with patients getting medication if they need it if the NHS service asks for shared care with the GP surgery as this follows the Hampshire and Isle of Wight shared care agreement for ADHD medications. Provided criteria are met and Psychiatry continue your reviews, a shared care agreement should be possible for the GP to support with ongoing medication.

2. Right to Choose

The Right to Choose scheme means you can choose to be referred to any service that has an NHS contract in England. People usually choose them because the waiting times are shorter. However, many do not provide a full service compared with what you would get locally. Our practice policy is that we will not enter shared care for prescribing with any right to choose provider. Therefore, you would need to research whether your right to choose provider can continue to supply you with medication beyond their initial assessment and titration.

Some of the Right to Choose providers are not local. If you need any tests or reviews, they cannot be done at the surgery. Be prepared for the possibility of travelling long distances to be able to get any necessary tests done.

For more details on Right to Choose, please see below. We must emphasise that, if you elect to be referred to a Right to Choose provider, it is your responsibility to make sure you fully understand the implications. By nominating a Right to Choose provider, you are accepting this responsibility. Remember, you will not be able to get your medications from us and may be left without any access to medication at all, and back at the beginning of a waiting list.

Please be aware that the local Commissioning Group, HIOW ICB have recently issued the following guidance on their website, Autism and ADHD Assessment Services :: NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight, so this may impact on whether or not your chosen Right to Choose provider is able to accept your referral.

3. Private referral

Sometimes people decide to have a private referral for ADHD assessment. Whilst the assessment may be a one-off cost, you should factor in the cost of ongoing treatment as you will have to keep paying for your prescriptions from the private specialist. Like most surgeries, Vine Medical Group will not prescribe ADHD medications on behalf of a private provider, for quality and safety reasons. We can refer you for NHS treatment at any time, but please be aware that the waiting times are long, you will enter at the back of the queue, and the NHS provider may not recognise the ADHD diagnosis made by a private provider. We have no control over this.

Right to Choose

The Right to Choose scheme for ADHD offers the choice of a number of providers. In order to be a Right to Choose provider, the company has to hold an NHS contract somewhere in England. The problem is that the contents of that contract vary from place to place. Locally we know that the NHS provider will do everything needed for us to prescribe your medication safely. Not every Right to Choose provider will do this.

The medications used for the treatment of ADHD are specialist medications and fall into the category of 'shared care agreement' drugs. A shared care agreement is a written agreement between a patient, their GP, and a hospital consultant and sets out the responsibilities of everyone, including who should prescribe, monitoring, and make referrals. The agreement allows the patient to obtain their medicine from their GP, rather than having to visit the hospital. Shared care agreements are voluntary for GPs, and we are not required to enter into them.

Vine Medical Group will refer you to any Right to Choose provider that you decide you would like to be seen by. However, we will not enter into shared care agreements with any right to choose provider for ADHD medication as some do not do enough to make the prescribing safe. Therefore, our practice policy is that we will not enter shared care with right to choose providers for ADHD medication.

Your responsibility

If you choose to go down the Right to Choose pathway, it is your responsibility to make sure the provider you choose will be able to continue to prescribe your medication for the duration of your treatment. Vine Medical Group will not be able to take over prescribing for any patients on a right to choose pathway.

We do not accept any responsibility for disruption to access of medications if a provider is selected who cannot provide ongoing prescriptions on the NHS in the absence of GP input.