A SUPPORT group for Islanders with ADHD has said it is concerned that patients who experience milder symptoms will suffer if they end up getting “bumped to the bottom” of the queue if changes are made to waiting lists to manage demand.
As previously reported by the JEP, mental health director Andy Weir said that the Health Department was exploring either closing the waiting list or prioritising ADHD assessments based on the severity and impact of symptoms.
This comes after a surge in referrals in recent years has overwhelmed an under-staffed ADHD service and led to a backlog of more than 700 patients.
Mr Weir put the backlog down to staffing shortages in Jersey and a “unique system” where only specialists can prescribe medication, managed by one consultant psychiatrist and one junior doctor who handle a caseload of over 200 people per month.
But ADHD Jersey said they felt that prioritising some patients could be unfair to those with milder symptoms who have already been waiting for months or years.
Group founder Rachel Tippet said: “Focusing solely on severe cases may neglect those with milder symptoms who could benefit from treatment.
“This could then put them at a higher risk of developing mental-health issues like depression and could make them feel like they don’t matter.”
ADHD Jersey’s secretary Carly Williams added: “I think prioritising based on severity sounds all well and good, but who would be in charge of determining priority? And is that just going to waste more time that could be spent on performing assessments?
“Those who’ve been on the list for ages already could potentially be bumped to the bottom? I think there’d be an uprising.”
ADHD Jersey also said they were “very concerned” about the staffing issues facing the Health Department.
Mrs Tippet said: “It is unfortunate that we are now left with only one specialist in Adult Mental Health who is qualified to diagnose ADHD as many of the psychiatrists have set up the public service to start up a private practice.”
Ms Williams said: “The department should recruit or redirect psychiatrists to ADHD diagnosis.”
However, Mr Weir explained that efforts to recruit additional specialists had been unsuccessful as getting a psychiatrist with specialist expertise in ADHD to come to the Island was “really difficult”.
He told the JEP recently that they had tried agencies and short-term contracts and carried out interviews three times in the space of four months.
He added that only 13 psychiatrists were working for the adult mental-health service and he needed to balance the demand for ADHD services alongside other mental-health needs.
Ms Williams also suggested that “GPs should be allowed to prescribe medication where individuals are settled on their ADHD medication for more than six months”.
This was echoed by Mrs Tippet, who suggested: “The government should allow other healthcare professionals, such as primary care physicians or nurse practitioners, to prescribe ADHD medication.”
