Once you have been referred to SAANS by your GP or another health professional, your referral will be screened to ensure it meets the essential criteria.
Once you reach the top of the waiting list, you will be contacted to arrange an appointment.
Our waiting times have increased due to an unprecedented demand for our service, which further increased during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Individual waiting times are variable and unfortunately, we cannot give specific times for individual waits. Please do not contact the clinic to enquire about waiting times as we cannot provide any more information than is provided within this section.
ADHD services nationally are experiencing high demand at present. This demand is resulting in longer wait times than we would want or expect for our service users. We acknowledge this can feel extremely frustrating and are working locally with our team and with our commissioners to improve this.
We on average receive 219 referrals per month for ADHD to our service (Sheffield and national combined).
We are currently booking ADHD assessments for those people that were referred in March 2019. Please note we are unable to accept requests to ‘speed-up’ or prioritise any assessment. This is to ensure we treat all our service users equally. We will process referrals in order of referral date.
In most instances patients legally have the right to choose where they receive NHS treatment. Information about choices currently available can be found within the NHS Choice Framework.
If you have received confirmation that your referral has been accepted, we will not remove you from the list. Please keep us updated of any changes to your contact details.
We understand that the lengthy waits for assessment can be upsetting and cause distress. We know how difficult it may feel not knowing when you might start the assessment process with our service. If you are experiencing difficulties with your mood and wellbeing, we would recommend that you contact your GP. You may wish to speak to your GP about being referred to a different service under the NHS Right to Choose. If you do take up this option, please let us know so that we can remove you from our waiting list.
Your assessment will be held at the Sheffield Adult Autism and Neurodevelopmental Service (SAANS). You will usually be seen by one clinician in an office or consulting room. There may be another member of staff observing, but we would always ask your permission on arrival before this was agreed.
Please let us know if you have any sensory requirements (for example needing us to dim the lights), when you arrive for the assessment.
This appointment typically takes around one and a half hours, although in some circumstances more than one appointment may be required. During your appointment you will be able to take breaks if needed; the clinician will discuss this with you at the beginning of your appointment.
The assessment will involve answering questions about your childhood development and past and current experiences of:
Problems like ADHD can occur with other psychiatric disorders. To rule out problems that might cause ADHD like symptoms you will be asked about your mental health and any present or past alcohol or substance misuse problems.
We also need to know about your physical health as some heart conditions prevent the use of ADHD medications. We will also need to measure your weight, blood pressure and pulse.
We aim to let you know at the end of your appointment whether we feel you meet the criteria for a diagnosis of ADHD. If this is the case you will be given some information about the treatments that are available and be invited to discuss these and starting medication for the condition.
If you start medication the aim is to find the right dose for you. When this is found we write to your GP who will then provide you with medication going forwards.
Please note that although we aim to complete the full assessment and give an outcome on the same day, there are some circumstances where this may not be possible (for instance if we felt unable to gain enough information to give a definite decision). We may need to arrange a further face-to-face or video appointment at a later date.