This report by Emily Stearn has been published in the Daily Mail. It begins:
“The ailing NHS risks being ‘overwhelmed’ by a huge surge in ADHD and autism self-diagnoses, experts have warned.
Professor Anthony David, director of UCL Institute of Mental Health, said clinicians had seen a spike in Brits wanting a diagnosis ‘rubber-stamped’.
Trendy apps promising to help manage the condition and social media influencers promoting everyday problems as potential symptoms have also sowed the seed about certain neuropsychiatric conditions, he claimed.
But the rise in self-diagnoses might also be harming those in need of the most help, he argued.
Since 1998 there has been a nine-fold increase in autism diagnoses in the UK, with the largest rise among adults, figures suggest.
Latest NHS data also shows a massive surge year-on-year in ADHD drug prescriptions.
Professor David said: ‘It is a big and growing issue. There are people who have made their own mind up about a diagnosis, often as adults.’
He added: ‘And that has led to huge waiting lists. So the system can’t cope with all of a sudden people wanting to have an assessment’…”
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