ADHD prescriptions soar to £13m after thousands of Scots diagnosed as experts issue TikTok warning
MEDS SURGE ADHD prescriptions soar to £13m after thousands of Scots diagnosed as experts issue TikTok warning
A SPIKE in the number of Scots with ADHD has seen the annual cost of drugs prescribed for the condition rocket to around £13million.
The alarming figures for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder were driven by an increase of almost 50 per cent among adults in the last two years — from 14,160 to 21,173.
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Data on NHS spending revealed the bill for five medicines used for ADHD soared by 40 per cent
Credit: Getty
Drugs used to treat it, such as Ritalin, were prescribed to 25,904 people in 2022/23.
But that jumped by a third to 34,440 in 2024/25.
Separate Public Health Scotland data on NHS spending revealed the bill for five medicines used for ADHD soared by 40 per cent from £9.1million in 2021/22, to £12.8million in 2023/24, as dispensed items leapt from 206,548 to 288,143.
Experts warn the rise in sufferers and costs is making it harder for our crisis-hit health service to deliver safe care.
The stats emerged two weeks after we revealed devolved benefits handouts for Scots with ADHD are set to hit £100million only three years after the payments were introduced.
Dr Pavan Srireddy, vice-chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said: 'The impact on mental health services has been immense.
'Teams that were already stretched are struggling to meet demand, leading to lengthy waiting lists.
'This growing pressure is compromising the ability of services to deliver safe, timely and effective care.'
And Dr Srireddy warned: 'The current situation is neither sustainable nor safe.'
But many medics fear the problems will only get worse because they reckon the condition is actually underdiagnosed.
Do you or your child have ADHD- Here's the NHS test as Brits waiting two years for diagnosis
Symptoms include being easily distracted, forgetful, having difficulty following instructions, losing personal items often, being impulsive, restless and making quick decisions without considering consequences.
The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland and other experts believe the huge increases may be being driven, in part, by awareness of ADHD being raised on social media sites such as TikTok.
But there are also fears of misinformation being spread online about the condition.
One study identified that more than half of the info on TikTok relating to ADHD was inaccurate.
Geraldine Mynors, co-founder of the Scottish ADHD Coalition, said: 'A large number of adults have never been diagnosed, or were diagnosed as children but fell out of the system as teenagers.
'Therefore, there has been a big unmet need for help.
'Studies show that perhaps 1.5 per cent to three per cent of the population have it — and we are still very far short of this in terms of adults in treatment.'
Concerns have also been raised about shortages of drugs, especially for children with severe cases.
We previously told how ADHD benefit claimants on a standard rate for Adult Disability Payment get almost £4,000 a year.
They don't need a formal diagnosis of having the condition in order to get approval for payouts.
But they must have supporting information from medical specialists.
Some legal firms are even offering sufferers 'no win, no fee' services to help them with claims.
The Donaldson Trust charity said: 'A national approach to collecting and publishing ADHD assessment data is essential to identify service gaps and improve outcomes.'
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Rob said: 'With these most vulnerable patients with high needs it's really tricky for the practice to to make that work [financially]. 'We had a family last Thursday with three kids and they had never been seen by a dentist. There was decay everywhere and they clearly need a lot of work and the parents are saying we haven't been able to be seen anywhere. And they're just tired because they've been calling around practices trying to get in and it kind of gets put on the back burner. 'We had a 14 year old girl come in a couple of weeks ago and she had four crowns put on her back teeth. And you're thinking, if we hadn't handled that soon she would have a couple of back teeth missing and then a lower denture.' Dental practices have high overheads with staff costs and materials. Fairfield House Dental Surgery is currently trying to find the funds for a new dentist chair which will cost £30,000. Rob has worked in the NHS in some form for 28 years, starting at the age of 15 in a hospital kitchen. He added: 'I've got a lot of good will towards the NHS so yeh I try my best to make it work.' But NHS dentistry cannot rely on good will alone. The British Dental Association warned the Public Accounts Committee earlier this year that the Treasury has become reliant on practices delivering care at a loss - fuelling an exodus of NHS dentists into lucrative private work. The professional body estimates a typical practice loses over £40 delivering a set of NHS dentures and £7 for every new patient exam. A Parliamentary report by the Health Select Committee has described the state of NHS dentistry as "unacceptable in the 21st century". The NHS contract effectively sets quotas on the maximum number of NHS patients a dentist can see as it caps the number of procedures they can perform each year. At the same time over a decade of real terms funding cuts under the Tories means the £3 billion NHS dental budget for England is only enough to treat around half of the population. Devon worst 'Dental Desert' Data from 700,000 participants in last year's GP Patient Survey showed it is hardest to get an NHS dentist appointment in South West England. Questions on dentistry focused on respondents who had attempted to get an NHS dental appointment in the last two years suggests Devon may be one of the country's worst dentistry deserts. Survey responses were grouped by regional Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) which include NHS bodies, local councils and voluntary organisations. The One Devon ICB is responsible for the health of the population in the county. Among people who were already in with an NHS dentist, Devon saw just 72% of people successfully get an appointment. In the wider South West region this was 74% while for England as a whole it was 84%. Dentists for All campaign Save NHS Dentistry petition Sign our petition to save NHS dentistry and make it fit for the 21st century Our 3 demands Everyone should have access to an NHS dentist More than 12 million people were unable to access NHS dental care last year – more than 1 in 4 adults in England. At the same time 90% of dental practices are no longer accepting new NHS adult patients. Data from the House of Commons Library showed 40% of children didn't have their recommended annual check-up last year. Restore funding for dental services and recruit more NHS dentists The UK spends the smallest proportion of its heath budget on dental care of any European nation. Government spending on dental services in England was cut by a quarter in real terms between 2010 and 2020. The number of NHS dentists is down by more than 500 to 24,151 since the pandemic. Change the contracts A Parliamentary report by the Health Select Committee has branded the current NHS dentists' contracts as 'not fit for purpose' and described the state of the service as "unacceptable in the 21st century". The system effectively sets quotas on the maximum number of NHS patients a dentist can see as it caps the number of procedures they can perform each year. Dentists also get paid the same for delivering three or 20 fillings, often leaving them out of pocket. The system should be changed so it enables dentists to treat on the basis of patient need. Have you had to resort to drastic measures because you couldn't access an NHS dentist? Are you a parent struggling to get an appointment for a child? Email or call 0800 282591 Of those who attempted to get an appointment at a practice they had not been seen at before, only 14% were successful in Devon. This compared to 19% in the South West region and 33% as the average for England. The big caveat is that many will not have tried to get an appointment if they thought they had no chance. The data shows only a minority of dentists are taking on new adult patients, and in Devon and the South West, hardly any are. British Dental Association chair Eddie Crouch said: 'This shows why the government is right to commit to major surgery for NHS dentistry, rather than mere sticking plasters. But we need pace. This service is on the critical list, and demoralised dentists are walking away every day this contract remains in force. If we don't make a break in this Parliament there may not be a service left to save.' A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: 'This government inherited a broken NHS dental system but we are getting on with fixing it through our 10 Year Health Plan. 'We have already begun the rollout of 700,000 extra urgent dental appointments, a 'golden hello' scheme is underway to recruit dentists to areas with the most need and we are reforming the NHS dental contract, with a shift to focus on prevention and the retention of NHS dentists - including introducing tie-ins for those trained in the NHS."
