CARE ADHD - Waiting times

Edited

Last update: 15th August 2025, 1:30pm

At CARE ADHD, we’re committed to being open and realistic about waiting times, even as they shift. We know how stressful waiting can be, and we’re working hard behind the scenes to reduce delays while keeping care safe, high-quality, and fair.


🧭 Your ADHD Care Journey: What to Expect 

Your wait time depends on: 

  • Whether you’re an NHS (including Right to Choose) or Private patient 

  • How quickly you complete your forms 

  • How busy the service is when you’re ready to book 

Below are typical average timeframes as of July 2025, based on our most recent data for patients that were referred within the last 90 days.

🏥 NHS Patients – Including Right to Choose (RTC) 

Most NHS patients referred in the past 90 days are seeing the following: 

Step 

Average Timeframe 

Referral to access to forms 

Around 3 weeks 

Forms completed → Booking contact 

Around 4–6 weeks 

→ Assessment date 

Typically within 8-10 weeks 

💡 That means most NHS patients were seen within 10-12 weeks from referral to assessment. This will vary depending on demand, capacity, and form completion time. 

👉 Want to learn more about the NHS Right to Choose pathway? 
Visit our Right to Choose page 

💳 Private Patients 

Private patients usually experience: 

Step 

Average Timeframe 

Payment to access to forms 

Within 3–5 working days 

Forms complete → Booking contact 

Around 1–2 weeks 

→Assessment date 

Typically 6-8 weeks 

➡️ So most private patients can expect to be seen within 6–8 weeks of payment if forms are submitted promptly. The queue for private patients is smaller, which is why the wait times are slightly shorter. If you’ve already booked a private assessment but then submit an NHS referral (including via Right to Choose), your private appointment will be cancelled and your NHS referral will be followed instead - using the original date your GP sent it. 

This helps us keep things fair and equitable, especially with NHS capacity funded separately. 

We understand this can be confusing, so if you’re unsure about your options, feel free to speak to your GP or read more about Right to Choose. 


💊 Titration (Medication Pathway) 

If you receive a diagnosis and start medication: 

Step 

Average Timeframe 

Titration request → Appointment offer 

< 4-5 weeks 

Booking to first titration session 

< 1 week 

This part of the journey is actively expanding, with more clinicians and appointment slots being added every month. 


🔧 What We’re Doing to Improve 

We know that some patients referred earlier this year (Feb–Apr) experienced much longer waits - in some cases up to 16–18 weeks - due to demand surges. Since then, we’ve taken several steps to fix this: 

  • Successfully bringing new clinical capacity into our service 

  • Successfully investing heavily in our Customer Success function to ensure we have enough staff to manage our patients through the pathway 

  • Launching internal tools to better track bottlenecks 

  • Working on a new patient portal to reduce back-and-forth 

 

📬 Why You Might Not Have Heard Yet 

If you’ve been waiting, we know that silence can be frustrating. In many cases, delays are caused by: 

  • Referrals that are missing key information – i.e. correct contact information 

  • Patients not completing forms in full 

  • High volume of duplicate emails/calls, which slow down our response time for everyone 

  • Patients not answering calls when we reach out to book 

We recommend: 

  • Saving our number: +44 20 4525 0709 so you don’t miss our call 

  • Avoiding repeat emails unless your timeline has exceeded the averages listed here 


📣 Contacting Us 

We are currently responding to general queries sent 2-3 weeks ago, in the order received. 

If your referral or payment was made more recently than the timelines above, it’s best to wait before getting in touch - repeat messages slow down the queue for everyone. 


❤️ Thank You for Your Patience 

We’re proud to offer high-quality ADHD care at scale, and we're always working to improve. Your patience means a great deal and we're looking forward to supporting you on your onward journey.