Hello
Is it true that it's free for under 18s for an assessment but there is a cost for over 18s ?
Hello
Is it true that it's free for under 18s for an assessment but there is a cost for over 18s ?
Hi and welcome to the community!
There is no cost to anyone under the NHS, regardless of their age:
If you are lucky you may get a NHS diagnosis in a few years. The Children's Commissioner has flagged up delays of up to four years in getting assessments for ASC, ADHD and Cerebral Palsy. The NHS can apparently afford weight loss jabs for ergophobic obese adults but CAMHS remains a total shambles. It was in a mess when I worked for the NHS in the 1980. (I was part of a review of CAMHS in North London) It has got progressively worse ever since.
Adult services are just as bad. Most resources go into forensic services, psychoses and life-threatening depression. The budget for neurodiversity services is minimal.
If you are lucky you may get a NHS diagnosis in a few years. The Children's Commissioner has flagged up delays of up to four years in getting assessments for ASC, ADHD and Cerebral Palsy. The NHS can apparently afford weight loss jabs for ergophobic obese adults but CAMHS remains a total shambles. It was in a mess when I worked for the NHS in the 1980. (I was part of a review of CAMHS in North London) It has got progressively worse ever since.
Adult services are just as bad. Most resources go into forensic services, psychoses and life-threatening depression. The budget for neurodiversity services is minimal.
If you are lucky you may get a NHS diagnosis in a few years.
My reply covers all NHS-initiated assessments. That includes those that are carried out by the NHS itself and - in England - those performed by an approved private provider of the patient's / parents' choice via the NHS Right to Choose pathway (an option that is explained in the linked article).
Either way, there is no cost for being assessed.
Published waiting times for RTC assessments for under 18s include, for example: