Letting GPs like myself step up in ADHD care is a long-overdue reform. This change matters

‘I was diagnosed with ADHD before the COVID-19 pandemic - well before the surge in public awareness and the influx of people seeking assessment in recent years’, writes Dr Richard Nguyen. Photograph: Andriy Popov/Alamy

On Monday a long overdue shift in ADHD care has been announced – one that may finally bring us closer to a system that is timely, accessible and grounded in ongoing relationships between patients and their trusted family doctors.

This new reform will allow specialist general practitioners, after additional training, to initiate stimulant medication for ADHD in kids that known to them and manage ongoing treatment – without requiring direct handover from the diagnosing paediatrician or psychiatrist. In practical terms, it means that instead of acting as a powerless middleman, I’ll finally be able to do what I know is right for my patients – and much sooner.