Adults
85
adults waiting for an NHS ADHD assessment
No commissioned adult ADHD service
We don't have enough recent figures to estimate how long a new referral would wait.
NHS area · Northern Ireland
ADHD assessment in South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
Figures come from our own Freedom of Information requests. Last updated 30 July 2026.
At a glance
Children and young people
2,118
children and young people waiting for an assessment
We don't have enough recent figures to estimate how long a new referral would wait.
Right to Choose
England only
Right to Choose does not apply in Northern Ireland. Your GP refers you to your local NHS service.
We know of 1 restriction affecting access here. See details
How South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust compares with other areas
Each dot is one NHS area. Further right means a longer wait at the current pace.
Middle of all areas: 12 years
010 yrs20 yrs30 yrs40 yrs50 yrs60 yrs70+ yrs
Middle of all areas: 2.7 years
04 yrs8 yrs12 yrs16+ yrs
What does "at the current pace" mean?
We divide the number of people waiting by the number of assessments the service did in the last year. It shows how long someone joining the list today could wait if nothing changes. It is an estimate, not a promise: services can speed up, and some people are seen sooner because of urgency. The NHS standard for non-urgent care is 18 weeks.
Local NHS services
The NHS services that assess people here, with their latest figures.
85 adults waiting across the whole area, according to the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (31 March 2026).
What they told us
FOI 4978 (30 Jul 2026): there is no commissioning or funding for an adult ADHD service, so the Trust cannot assess adults - no adults were given an ADHD assessment in 2025/26 and no timeline can be given. Because the children's list is so long, 85 people aged 18 and over were still waiting on the Children's ADHD service list as at 1 July 2026. Adults with a comorbid mental health problem are offered a mental health assessment via the adult core care pathway; priority is only afforded to CAMHS/paediatric patients with an existing diagnosis on medication who need monitoring.
We don't have figures from individual NHS services here yet.
2,118 children and young people waiting across the whole area, according to the South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (31 March 2026).
What they told us
FOI 4978 (30 Jul 2026): 2,118 children and young people waiting for their first ADHD assessment appointment (2,033 aged 6 to 17 plus 85 who have turned 18 while waiting), as at 1 July 2026. The Trust cannot report the number assessed but estimates 320 to 350 positive diagnoses a year - because that is diagnoses rather than assessments, no effective wait is derived (for scale, 2,118 / ~335 would be roughly 6.3 years). Stated wait as of July 2026: 3 years 6 months, growing; a child referred now is likely to wait a minimum of 3.5 years and possibly 5 years, and a number will turn 18 while waiting. Pathway: Child Health Single Point of Entry, clinical triage, home and school questionnaires and rating scales, waiting list dated from receipt of information, partial booking, QB Test / school observation / TEA-CH2 as requested by the clinician.
We don't have figures from individual NHS services here yet.
What is restricting access here
Rules the NHS here has put in place that limit who can be assessed, or how fast.
Adults
No clear local pathway
There is no funded adult ADHD service here, so adults cannot get an ADHD assessment and no timeline can be given. Adults with other mental health problems are seen by general adult mental health services, and 85 people who turned 18 while waiting remain on the children's list.
Know of a restriction we've missed? Tell us.
What you can do
1
Get updates for this area
We'll email you when new figures or restrictions are published for South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust, and when complaint letters are ready.
2
Write to the ICB and your MP
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Coming soon3
Tell us something we've missed
A new restriction, a letter from your trust, a figure that looks wrong. It helps us keep this page accurate.
Sources and how we work
In June 2026 we sent Freedom of Information requests to 1 organisation here. 1 has replied: 1 in full, 0 in part.
| Organisation | Reply | Received | Document |
|---|---|---|---|
| South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust | Full | 30 July 2026 | View |
Older figures and records (2)
- Mar 2023 South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (adults) · SourceThe South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust told us via FOI that they did not provide a figure for how many adult ADHD assessments were carried out. they did not provide a figure for how many adults were waiting for an ADHD assessment.
- Mar 2023 South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust (children): 801 waiting, 392 assessed · SourceThe South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust told us via FOI that 392 child ADHD assessments were carried out in 2023. around 801 children were reported to be waiting for an ADHD assessment. The expected wait time is 2.0 years.
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South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
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