ADHD: undercover investigation tries to expose sham private clinics
Ok so lets just say first off that ADHD is a real thing.. it is a condition or state of mental or emotional processing that can sometimes create symptoms and feelings of disconnection, inability to connect or have meaningful lives.. while also a miriad of other issues.
In the UK currently we face huge waits to see any specialists to be just spoken to about ADHD or AS.
Just a quick word of warning – the BBC has done hatchet job investigations before with its Panarama team so do take this article as an opinion – Regarding mental health we should all be aware that as much as there might be people out there trying to help us, some might just be looking for money
The investigation purports to hold these “exploitative” clinics to account, pointing to a high number of diagnoses.
The show’s description says that a reporter has gone undercover as a patient at these clinics, to show that “diagnoses are being handed out to almost everyone who books an appointment”.
As someone who was diagnosed by a private ADHD clinic – someone who scrimped and saved for months because I was let down by the NHS
From my own personal experiances I have had to wait over 6 months from one GP surgery – soo long that I had to move house before any reply, which moved me into a differant GP area.
I rememeber specifically speaking to my GP about it a few times but the first time he was at a total loss to say anything – admiting to me that he knew nothing of ADHD or what the procedure was to be tested, or even what any of the symptoms were!?
To fill the huge demand – many private clinics are open to offer testing
But I have always been a little suspicious myself over how these clinics operate – with large sums of money being traded for testing for ADHD – 1 to 2K to be tested privately; you can see there might be an incentive there for unscrupulious therapits to take advantage of people.
Well – lacking any real regulation by the UK goveernment there has been a BBC led investigation into this.. where journalists say they have no ADHD but were told by multiple therapists that they were.
Actually just reading about this online I see there is a lot of other articles and information about people actually faking ADHD symptoms.
BBC Panorama spoke to dozens of patients and whistleblowers after receiving tip-offs about rushed and poor-quality assessments at some private clinics, including Harley Psychiatrists, ADHD Direct and ADHD 360.
All three diagnosed undercover reporter Rory Carson with the neurodevelopmental disorder – a recognised medical condition which affects behaviour and can be considered a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
The investigation found that:
- Clinics carried out only limited mental health assessments of patients
- Powerful drugs were prescribed for long-term use, without advice on possible serious side effects or proper consideration of patients’ medical history
- Patients posting negative reviews were threatened with legal action
- The NHS is paying for thousands of patients to go to private clinics for assessments
Read the full huge article here
Find a list of ADHD symptoms here and do seek help if you feel you struggling with anything regarding mental health
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