Private Assessment for ADHD
Ok, so you want your private assessment as soon as possible, however, you may want to consider the following factors before booking an assessment:
- What is the fee? The final cost may be high once you consider not just the assessment fee, but also the cost of getting the right medication. It usually takes several months to find best medication for you.
- This titration process usually involves multiple follow-up appointments/ phone calls. How much will this cost? Are these done by the Psychiatrist (this costs more) or a specialist nurse (often an excellent, and cheaper option).
- Prescribing medication is often charged in addition.
- Prescription charge for collecting medication at your pharmacy will be significantly more than NHS fees (£20-150 depending on pharmacy – supermarkets are often cheapest e.g., ASDA)
- Once the correct medication & dosage has been established, your GP will need to agree to take on ‘shared care’ (to provide repeat prescriptions at NHS rate). GPs are not obliged to do this, so there’s a risk you might end up having ongoing monthly prescription fees
Private assessment centres – what do you need to know?:
- Would you prefer an in-person or online consultation? (Some offer both)
- Assessment fee
- Cost of titration appointments (may take quite a few sessions to get right dosage)
- Cost of prescribing private prescriptions
- Cost of medication (cashing in private prescription at pharmacy)
- Will your GP accept Shared Care from this (or any) private psychiatrist?
If all this has made you think twice about going private, find out how to reduce your time on a NHS waiting list using your Right To Choose (RTC).
LASTLY, if you do decide to save time by going private, it’s still worth asking your GP to put in an NHS referral using RTC. You’ll wait a few more months, but putting in this parallel referral means that in the end you’ll be able to access ongoing NHS support and treatment.
List of Private Assessors for ADHD (in no particular order*):
Effra Clinic (Central London)
“Dr Maltezoz was lovely when I had my diagnosis at the Maudsley in 2015. I found the process very thorough; he was interested in doing a proper assessment- taking all factors into account (contextual, history – incl school reports and my personal experiences / accounts) non-judgmental etc. Rather humble and approachable/ personable”
“I’m happy to recommend Dr Stefanos Maltezos at the Effra Clinic, who diagnosed me. He’s not the cheapest, but I went with him because his day job is with the ADHD/ASD service at the Maudsley Hospital which gave my GP confidence in his diagnosis. However, his report was very thorough (7 pages about me!) and showed how he considers both ADHD and ASD. He said it’s not really worth assessing for one of these without considering the other.”
Fees (2022)
Assessment: £950
1 hour review: £300
30 min review: £195
Prescribing: £50
ADHD Clinic (Oxford; Berkshire; Southampton)
“Expensive but wrote an extremely thorough and accurate report. A credible assessment report has been invaluable in getting the co-operation of GPs and social services (DWP)”
“Dr Sally Cubbin was very accommodating and thorough”
Fees (2022)
Assessment: £1200
Review: £600
Followup: £200-300
Prescribing: £40:
ADHD Centre (Central London)
“I found Dr Kripalani at ADHD centre very good” (Recommendation by a doctor with ADHD)
Fees (2022)
Assessment: £895
Follow up: £225
Titration review: £45
The Giaroli Centre (Central London, for children & adults)
Recommended by Soli Lazarus (a teacher who works with ADHD families)
(Children & adolescents – I recommend him from personal NHS experience)
Fees (2022)
Assessment: £790 x2 (1 hr each)
Follow-ups: £320 (30min)
Titration £50 (prescription)
Dr Sharmishtha Sarkar (Hatfield)
Recommended by Soli Lazarus (a teacher who works with ADHD families)
(Fees not published)
The Orchard Clinic (Twickenham/ online)
“Dr Brinda assessed my son for ADHD – she explained all the costs & process clearly. She was kind & took time to get to know my son, and did some of the assessment online, and also met all of our family face to face.
She was very thorough and gave us a list of additional support as well as being accommodating throughout his titration and supporting us with arranging Shared Care – I would recommend to others”
(Prices available on request)
The Cardinal Clinic (Windsor & online)
“Fantastic mental health hospital . I recommend Dr Fivos Cacoullis
CAMHS psychiatrist and I’d also recommend Lucy Thomas psychologist for EMDR.”
(Prices available on request)
Dr Kamal Kumar Sawhney (Buckinghamshire)
Recommended by Soli Lazarus (a teacher who works with ADHD families)
(Prices available on request)
ADHD Direct (Online or Glasgow)
Gordon Brown is a consultant nurse who is qualified to assess for ADHD
Fees (2022)
Assessment: £870 (2 hours)
Follow up: £225 (1 hour)
Titration review: £45 (20min)
*Please note, all assessors above were recommended by either by their patients, or by people who work within the ADHD field. (See individual comments from those who recommended them.)
