I’m the NHS psychiatrist on Panorama. The episode revealed the fallout of decades of underdiagnosis and NHS services that are no longer fit for purpose
On Monday night, the BBC’s Panorama aired its documentary Private ADHD Clinics Exposed, in which I participated. The reporter Rory Carson was able to receive three separate diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from clinics operating within the private sector. When I later put him through a more rigorous assessment in my NHS clinic, I found he fell short of the criteria to make a diagnosis.
The story has provoked heated debate. One camp is relieved that concerns about quality of care for those with ADHD are finally being exposed. In the face of logjammed NHS waiting lists, many patients who are looking for answers to their struggles simply have no other option than to pay out of their own pocket to see a private provider and, clearly, some are being let down.
Dr Mike Smith is a consultant psychiatrist and the clinical lead of the Leeds NHS Adult ADHD service. As told to Lucy Pasha-Robinson
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