Right to Choose for ADHD: questions to ask a provider

When you are looking into Right to Choose for an ADHD assessment, the shortest waiting list can seem like the only thing that matters. Waiting is difficult, but understanding the whole pathway can help you avoid unexpected gaps later.

Right to Choose is an NHS patient-choice route in England. It is not a UK-wide scheme, and it does not mean you can pick any private clinic and ask the NHS to pay. Your GP needs to consider a referral clinically appropriate, and the provider must meet the relevant NHS requirements for the service you need.

Start by checking whether the provider accepts NHS Right to Choose referrals for adult ADHD, or for children if that is who the referral concerns. Ask what paperwork your GP needs, whether appointments are online or in person, and what adjustments are available if forms, phone calls or video appointments are difficult for you.

Then ask about what follows an assessment. If ADHD is diagnosed and medication is appropriate, does the provider offer medication initiation and titration? Is there a separate waiting list? Who handles reviews and prescriptions? An assessment appointment and a treatment pathway are not necessarily the same thing.

Shared care is worth discussing with both the provider and your GP. This is an arrangement in which a GP takes on agreed prescribing responsibilities with specialist support. It is not automatic, and a GP may decline it. Ask the provider what arrangements apply if shared care is not accepted, rather than assuming you will have to pay privately or that your GP will prescribe.

Keep your questions in one short note and save the answers with your referral paperwork. Check the NHS information on choosing where to receive care and the provider’s current guidance, because services and waiting times change. A clearer picture cannot remove the wait, but it can make the next steps less uncertain.

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