NHS Right to Choose for ADHD assessment, explained properly

Right to Choose can cut an ADHD assessment wait from years to weeks, funded entirely by the NHS. Most people have never heard of it. Here's how it actually works.

If you've been referred for an NHS ADHD assessment, there's a good chance nobody has mentioned Right to Choose to you. It's a legal right that's been in place for years, and it's still one of the least understood parts of the NHS system.

Used correctly, it can take a wait measured in years down to a matter of weeks, without costing you anything.

What Right to Choose actually is

Under the NHS Constitution, patients in England have the legal right to choose which provider carries out certain types of NHS-funded care, including mental health assessments. This applies even if your local NHS trust has its own ADHD service with a long waiting list.

Instead of being stuck with whichever provider your local area happens to use, you can ask to be referred to a different NHS-approved provider elsewhere in the country. The assessment is still fully funded by the NHS. You pay nothing.

Why this matters for ADHD specifically

ADHD assessment waiting lists vary enormously depending on where you live. Some areas have waits of a few months. Others have waits well over five years. Right to Choose exists specifically to stop your postcode from deciding how long you wait for care.

A number of independent providers hold NHS contracts specifically for ADHD assessment, and typically offer appointments within weeks rather than years, because they aren't tied to the same local capacity constraints as your area's standard service.

How to use it, step by step

1. Book a GP appointment and explain that you'd like a referral for an ADHD assessment
2. Tell your GP specifically that you want to exercise your Right to Choose
3. Name the provider you'd like to be referred to, or ask your GP which NHS-contracted providers are available
4. Ask your GP to send the referral directly to that provider, rather than to your default local service
5. Keep a note of the referral date in case you need to follow up

What if your GP hasn't heard of it

This happens more often than it should. Right to Choose isn't obscure or new, but not every GP is familiar with how it applies to ADHD referrals specifically. You're allowed to bring information with you, ask for it to be noted in your records, and request that the referral goes through even if the GP needs to look up the process themselves.

If a GP still refuses, you can ask to speak to a different GP at the same practice, or raise it with the practice manager. Persistence usually works, because the right itself is not in question.

Things worth knowing before you start

• •Waiting times still vary between providers, so it's worth checking current waits before choosing where to be referred
• •Not every private clinic holds an NHS contract, so paying privately and using Right to Choose are two different routes
• •You can switch providers partway through the process if things aren't moving, though this can add delay
• •The assessment itself follows the same clinical standards as any NHS assessment

Right to Choose won't be the right fit for everyone, and some people will still prefer to pay privately for speed and control over timing. But for anyone facing a multi-year NHS wait, it's worth understanding properly before ruling it out.