17.12.12
Scottish services under pressure from ADHD demand
Health services are struggling to support the rising number of children diagnosed with ADHD, according to Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS).
Children should be offered psychological help, and parents given behaviour management training, but resource pressures mean that investment appears to vary around Scotland.
HIS found that provision for ADHD falls “far short of what we would expect”.
Around 5,200 children have been diagnosed with the disorder in Scotland, which represents fewer than 1% of under-18s. ADHD affects around 5% of school-aged children, which indicates that there are thousands undiagnosed.
The proportion of children diagnosed varies considerably, and is particularly low in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) and NHS Lanarkshire.
The HIS report said: “There is no doubt that the provision of care for ADHD is changing for the better, but there is still some way to go to make sure that all children, young people and adults with ADHD can easily access the support and services that they need.”
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