Good morning. Hundreds of thousands of people are seeking attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnoses in England – but the system designed to help them has turned into a fragmented marketplace that is costing the NHS far more than planned. A Guardian investigation has found services are on track to overspend their budgets by £164m this year.
The months-long investigation found growing demand is being pushed into an under-regulated – and highly profitable – private sector that, in some cases, is leaving patients dangerously unsupported. It has also landed in the middle of a rancorous political debate about whether ADHD is being overdiagnosed – an argument that ignores the very real struggles that are driving people to seek help in the first place.
