Last updated: 14 October
Your local NHS Integrated Care Board (ICB), Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB, is responsible for planning and funding NHS services in your area. Your ICB has asked Clinical Partners to make changes to the way autism and ADHD services are managed due to very high demand. These changes may affect how long people wait for assessment and to begin treatment.
We are sharing this information so that patients on the Clinical Partners waiting list from Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB have the most up-to-date picture. The ICB recognises longer waits are difficult and has assessed this approach to ensure patient safety remains a priority.
On this page
- For parents and carers of children and young people
- For adults
- Your legal Right to Choose
- Support while you wait
- Questions about these changes
For parents and carers of children and young people
What this means for your child:
- Your child will stay on the waiting list, unless you ask for them to be removed.
- While services for your ICB are paused, we will be unable to book your child’s appointment unless:
- they are part-way through their assessment journey
- they are already receiving ADHD medication and require ongoing management and reviews.
- When your ICB confirms further funding is available, services will resume, and we will begin booking assessments again in referral date order.
- At this stage, we cannot give you a specific timeframe for your child’s assessment or for them to begin ADHD medication if clinically appropriate.
What is being prioritised?
- Children/young people already part-way through assessment
- Those already receiving ADHD medication who need ongoing reviews
Medication
If your child is already receiving ADHD medication, their regular medication reviews will continue as planned. These are not affected by the pause to new assessment or new medication bookings.
Support in school
Schools can provide support and make adjustments without a formal diagnosis — please speak to your child’s school about what may be possible.
For adults
What this means for you:
- You will stay on the waiting list, unless you ask to be removed.
- While services funded by your ICB are paused, we will be unable to book you for an appointment unless:
- you are part-way through your assessment
- you are already receiving ADHD medication and require ongoing management and reviews.
- When your ICB confirms further funding is available, services will resume, and we will begin booking assessments again in referral date order.
- At this stage, we cannot give you a specific timeframe for your assessment or to begin ADHD medication if clinically appropriate.
What is being prioritised?
- People already part-way through assessment
- Those already receiving ADHD medication who need ongoing reviews
Medication
If you are already receiving ADHD medication, your regular medication reviews will continue as planned. These are not affected by the pause to new assessment or new medication bookings.
Additional support
Workplaces and community services can often provide support and adjustments based on individual needs, even without a formal diagnosis. Please speak with your GP or employer about what may be available.
Your legal Right to Choose
You have a legal Right to Choose which provider carries out your NHS autism or ADHD assessment.
You may wish to contact other providers directly to confirm their current waiting times for your ICB. If you decide to move your referral, you will need to ask your GP to make a new referral and inform us so we can remove you from our waiting list. Please be aware that if you leave our list and later return to Clinical Partners, you will rejoin the waiting list from the beginning.
Learn more: NHS England Patient Choice
Support while you wait
We know waiting for an assessment can be difficult. We understand this may feel frustrating or worrying, and we are committed to making sure you are supported during this time.
- Visit the Autism Hampshire hub
- Visit WaitingWell for advice and support for individuals on neurodiversity waiting lists across the UK
- Find out more on the NHS webpages for ADHD in adults and ADHD in children, and Autism
- The National Autistic Society have an online community and a helpful advice and guidance page
- ADHD UK is a charity run for people with ADHD by people with ADHD
- The Health for Teens website has a broad range of useful health information, including about ADHD and autism. All articles and videos have been developed by trusted NHS school nurses and health and wellbeing experts
- Explore local support groups or charities
- Talk to your GP about self-management strategies, or if you are worried about your or your child’s wellbeing.
If anyone feels in crisis:
- Call 111 for urgent NHS advice
- Call 999 in an emergency
Support for adults:
- Text ‘SHOUT’ to 85258 for free, confidential text support (24/7)
- Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, available 24/7
Support for children and young people:
- Childline – call 0800 1111 or use online chat
- Shout – text YM to 85258 (24/7)
- Papyrus HOPELINE247 – call 0800 068 4141 or text 07860 039 967
- The Mix – call 0808 808 4994 or use webchat (under 25s)
Questions about these changes
These decisions have been made by Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB to manage NHS resources. Unfortunately, our team is not able to provide further information about the changes.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your ICB directly on: [email protected]
For patient experience concerns, please reach out to: [email protected].
This update applies only to patients on the Clinical Partners waiting list whose NHS care is commissioned by Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB. If your care is arranged by a different ICB, please check your email to see if there is an update for your care.
FAQs
No. You or your child will remain on the waiting list and keep your original referral date. When Hampshire and Isle of Wight is able to release more funding, bookings will restart, and patients will be booked in referral date order.
Because demand is so high, your appointment may take place later than originally expected when you were referred. At this stage, we cannot give you a specific timeframe.
Demand for autism and ADHD services across England is higher than the NHS financial resources available. Under new NHS guidance, ICBs can use contractual powers to manage demand and keep services within locally available budgets. This means ICBs may instruct providers that offer Autism and ADHD services under Right to Choose to prioritise resources by 'pausing' certain assessments or treatment, until further funding becomes available.
No. If you are already receiving ADHD medication, your regular reviews will continue as planned.
The pause applies to new assessment or new medication referrals and does not affect ongoing ADHD medication or treatment.
If you or your child already have an appointment booked, it will go ahead as planned. For patients without an assessment or ADHD medication appointment, new bookings are paused until further funding is released.
We understand this can be confusing, especially when you’ve heard that new assessments are paused.
Under the NHS Right to Choose framework, patients still have the legal right to choose their preferred provider for an NHS-funded autism or ADHD assessment. Because of this, Clinical Partners continues to accept new referrals for patients from Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB where a GP feels an assessment is clinically appropriate, and the patient chooses us as their provider.
However, Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB has asked Clinical Partners to pause new assessment and new ADHD medication bookings until further funding becomes available. This means that while we can continue to accept referrals, we are not currently able to book new appointments for these patients.
New referral dates will still be protected, and once Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB releases further funding, bookings will restart in referral date order.
All patients are on one waiting list and normally bookings are made in strict date order. However, when an ICB instructs Clinical Partners to pause services, new bookings for patients from that ICB cannot be made. During this time, we continue booking patients from other ICBs whose funding is still available, even if their referral date is later than yours.
When Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB releases further funding, services will resume, and your appointments will be booked when we are booking referrals from the same date as yours.
NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight are working to improve services, including new ways of accessing help sooner, increasing advice and guidance services for autism and ADHD, improving access through technology, and strengthening medication prescribing support.
Yes. You have a legal Right to Choose which provider carries out your NHS autism or ADHD assessment. You may wish to contact other providers directly to confirm their waiting times for NHS Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB.
If you decide to move your referral to another provider, you will need to:
- Ask your GP to make a new referral, and
- Tell us so we can remove you from our waiting list.
Please be aware that if you leave our list and later return to Clinical Partners, you will rejoin the waiting list from the beginning.
Please speak to your GP if you are concerned. Schools, workplaces, and community services can often provide support and adjustments without a formal diagnosis. Support services and helplines are listed above.
Schools, workplaces, and community services can often provide support and adjustments based on individual needs, even without a formal diagnosis. Please speak with your GP, school, or employer about what may be available.
These decisions have been made by Hampshire and Isle of Wight ICB to manage NHS resources. Unfortunately, our team is not able to provide further information about the changes.
If you have questions or concerns, please contact your ICB directly on: [email protected]
For patient experience concerns, please reach out to [email protected].
Clinical Partners cannot investigate complaints regarding pauses in funding.
Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are NHS organisations that plan and fund healthcare services for people in their local area. They decide how NHS budgets are spent and are responsible for commissioning (purchasing) services such as autism and ADHD assessments.
Your NHS care is commissioned (planned and funded) by the Integrated Care Board (ICB) linked to your GP practice. This may not always match where you live.
You can check which ICB your GP practice is part of by:
- Looking on your GP practice website, which usually lists the ICB they belong to.
- Asking at your GP practice reception.
- Visiting the NHS England website for a full list of ICBs and the areas they cover.