ADHD UK has sent a formal legal notice to West Yorkshire NHS integrated care board warning of potential judicial review proceedings over the board’s decision to implement a minimum two-year waiting period for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and autism assessments. The policy, introduced earlier this year, affects residents across Leeds, Bradford, Kirklees, Calderdale, and Wakefield seeking such evaluations through the NHS.
The charity contends that the policy breaches multiple legal requirements and patient protections. According to ADHD UK’s legal letter, West Yorkshire failed to produce essential documentation including a published decision record, equality impact assessment, public involvement consultation, demand and capacity analysis, clinical safety assessment, and statement of reasons specific to the two-year minimum. The charity further alleges that the board violated equalities legislation, denied patients their statutory right to choose non-NHS care providers, failed to consult patients and carers, and contravened NHS contract regulations.
West Yorkshire is among multiple NHS integrated care boards rationing access to neurodiversity assessments due to rising costs driven by assessment demand. Four boards total—West Yorkshire, Devon, Somerset, and North East and North Cumbria—have imposed minimum waiting periods, while an additional 11 have introduced other rationing mechanisms. Henry Shelford, chief executive of ADHD UK, emphasized that the organization views the restrictions as unlawful, particularly regarding patients’ legal entitlement to choose where they receive NHS-funded care.
Local support organizations have reported being excluded from the decision-making process. A representative from Stripes, a West Yorkshire charity supporting individuals with ADHD, described learning of the policy through affected service users rather than official channels and noted that private “right to choose” providers can offer assessments sooner than the two-year NHS timeline.
The dispute emerges as a government-commissioned review on mental health, ADHD, and autism prevalence, led by Professor Peter Fonagy, prepares recommendations that may reshape diagnostic practices and introduce greater oversight of private psychiatry services. West Yorkshire NHS indicated it would not comment further while the matter remains potentially subject to legal proceedings.
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