Surrey, UK -- (SBWIRE) -- 03/08/2013 -- ADHD Oxfordshire has criticised the NHS for not providing enough support for the thousands of adults living with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. In the UK of the 3% of children who are diagnosed with ADHD, around half will go on to continue with this condition until they reach adulthood.
Patrick Vale who founded ADHD Oxfordshire believes there isn’t enough support for adults who have this condition. Mr Vale was diagnosed with ADHD as an adult himself, states “I couldn’t find anywhere in Oxfordshire for support.”
Vale goes on to state that, “You’d probably go to your GP with depression or anxiety and if they’re not trained to pick up on ADHD it gets missed.”
The result is that adults are staying on the drugs they received for treatment as children yet according to Pritt Butar, a GP who is based in Abingdon, Oxfordshire, “When you look at the drugs the evidence for them working on adults is just not there.”
While adult ADHD is considered a fairly new discovery, the problem goes much further and is something which adult psychiatry will have to take on board. There is also the issue of funding as adult psychiatry requires additional training and education to understand with support being rather inconsistent across the UK.
Dr Adam Osborne is a London based psychiatrist that specialises in adult ADHD treatment. He says “NICE guidelines quite clearly say that adults who suffer from ADHD and are experiencing moderate or severe levels of impairment in their lives due to these symptoms should be treated. The first line treatment is usually with medication, however specific therapies such as cognitive behavioural therapy can also help people immensely.” Dr Adam Osborne has worked in a child and adolescent ADHD clinic during his training and says,“Although in many areas of the country the diagnosis and treatment for childhood ADHD is now actually very good, NHS service provision for adult ADHD sufferers is still very scarce.” Dr Osborne goes onto say “Sadly this gap in service provision between childhood ADHD and adult ADHD services is really very marked and adult ADHD services are woefully under resourced by local mental health trusts, especially when you consider that some studies show that up to 50-60% of children diagnosed with ADHD will go onto have symptoms in adulthood”
Dr Adam Osborne is currently actively involved in efforts to raise awareness and attract more funding for vital adult ADHD service provision throughout the UK. Dr Osborne is also involved in extensive research looking at the increased prevalence of adult ADHD in prison populations. Dr Osborne says, “Recent studies have shown that adult ADHD is greatly over-represented in forensic populations and that, in particular, potentially treatable symptoms of impulsivity can contribute to offending behaviour. ”
About Dr Osborne
Dr Osborne is currently working as part of a multi-disciplinary Primary Care Mental Health Team in one of London’s busiest boroughs and is an Approved Clinician under section 12 of the Mental Health Act (1983) and is therefore recognised as a medically qualified doctor who has specific expertise in mental disorder and has additionally received training in the application of the Act.
Media Contact:
Adam Osborne
dradamosborne@gmail.com
Surrey
http://www.adamosborneuk.com/