Update on NHS autism and ADHD assessments in NHS Somerset ICB

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Last updated: 8 December 2025

 

NHS Somerset ICB, which plans and funds healthcare in the county, sets a yearly budget for the organisations that provide care locally. Demand for autism and ADHD assessments is currently higher than the NHS budget available. As a result, NHS Somerset has asked Right to Choose providers to limit the number of assessments they book so they do not exceed the budget set at the start of the year.

NHS Somerset ICB has asked us to pause new autism and ADHD assessments.

This means that people in Somerset who are waiting for a new autism or ADHD assessment through Right to Choose with Clinical Partners will experience a longer wait. We understand this is difficult, and we cannot give a specific timeframe for your assessment at the moment.

We are sharing this information so that patients on the Clinical Partners waiting list from Somerset ICB have the most up-to-date picture.

On this page

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:
    • their assessment is already booked
    • they are part-way through their assessment journey
    • they are diagnosed and awaiting treatment
    • 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.

Which services will continue?

Somerset ICB has asked us to continue to provide services for patients whose assessment date is already booked, those part-way through their assessment, those diagnosed and awaiting treatment, and those already receiving ADHD medication who require ongoing management and reviews.

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:
    • your assessment is already booked
    • you are part-way through your assessment
    • you are diagnosed and awaiting treatment
    • 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.

Which services will continue?

Somerset ICB has asked us to continue to provide services for patients whose assessment date is already booked, those part-way through their assessment, those diagnosed and awaiting treatment, and those already receiving ADHD medication who require ongoing management and reviews.

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.

Local support in Somerset:

  • Visit the Somerset Open Mental Health website for local mental health information and support
  • MindLine Somerset is a confidential listening service, open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Call 01823 276 892

National NHS guidance:

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, availble 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, available 24/7
  • Papyrus HOPELINE247 – call 0800 068 4141 or text 07860 039 967
  • The Mix – call 0808 808 4994 or use webchat (under 25s)

ICB update image

 

Questions about these changes

These decisions have been made by Somerset ICB to manage NHS resources. Unfortunately, our team is not able to provide further information about the changes.

If you would like to talk to someone about the decision or raise any concerns, please contact NHS Somerset Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

  • Write to: PALS, NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board, Freepost RRKL-XKSC-ACSG, Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 8HR
  • Call 08000 851067
  • Email [email protected]

This update applies only to patients on the Clinical Partners waiting list whose NHS care is commissioned by Somerset 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

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, until further funding becomes available.

Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) are responsible for planning NHS services and making sure they stay within their local budgets. The NHS is experiencing significant financial pressures and demand for services. ICBs must balance funding health care services to meet the needs of its local population with financial resources available. Because of this, ICBs may ask providers delivering services under Right to Choose to pause new bookings so that existing patients can continue their care safely, until more funding is available.

No. You or your child will remain on the waiting list and keep your original referral date. When NHS Somerset ICB is able to release more funding, bookings will restart, and patients will be booked in referral date order.

If you or your child already have an appointment booked, it will go ahead as planned. For patients without an assessment appointment, new bookings are paused until further funding is released.

NHS Somerset ICB has asked us to continue to provide services for patients whose assessment date is already booked, those part-way through their assessment, those diagnosed and awaiting treatment, and those already receiving ADHD medication who require ongoing management and reviews. Patients of other ICBs may be in a different position.

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, bookings for new assessments 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 NHS Somerset ICB releases further funding, services will resume, and your appointments will be booked when we are booking referrals from the same date as yours.

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 Somerset 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 start.

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.

If you would like to talk to someone about the decision or raise any concerns, please contact NHS Somerset Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS).

  • Write to: PALS, NHS Somerset Integrated Care Board, Freepost RRKL-XKSC-ACSG
    Yeovil, Somerset, BA22 8HR
  • Call 08000 851067
  • Email [email protected]

Complaints about waiting times should go to NHS Somerset ICB, as they are responsible for organising and funding services. 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.