Latest news with #PavanSrireddy
Scottish Sun
05-07-2025
- Health
- Scottish Sun
ADHD prescriptions soar to £13m after thousands of Scots diagnosed as experts issue TikTok warning
Experts believe the huge increases may be being driven by awareness of ADHD being raised on social media sites like TikTok 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. 1 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.'
Daily Record
05-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Over 2,000 people from Lanarkshire languishing on NHS waiting list to see psychologist
Freedom of Information Requests revealed that some 22,880 across Scotland are currently on a psychologist waiting list. Over 2,000 people from Lanarkshire are languishing on an NHS waiting list to see a psychologist. Freedom of Information Requests revealed that some 22,880 across Scotland are currently on a psychologist waiting list. Dr Pavan Srireddy, vice-chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said: 'While concerning, these figures come as no surprise. The unprecedented demand for services and critical gaps in the mental health workforce is already leading to unacceptably long waits for mental health care and treatment. 'Working on the frontline we see a postcode lottery of specialist mental health services across the country, but our patients deserve so much better than this. 'Alarmingly, waiting times may be even higher because the Scottish Government don't consider the rise in people seeking help for neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism or ADHD.' NHS Lothian had the longest list, with 4,287 patients waiting to be seen. This was followed by Greater Glasgow and Clyde on 3,733 and Tayside on 2,821. Grampian had 2,736 patients waiting, Forth Valley had 2,729 and Lanarkshire had 2,097. Scottish Labour Mental Health spokesperson Paul Sweeney said 'These shocking figures lay bare the true scale of Scotland's mental health crisis and the SNP's woeful failure to deliver the support needed. 'Behind these figures are people who have been failed in their darkest hour by an NHS that is no longer truly free and available at the point of need. 'NHS staff are working tirelessly to keep overstretched mental health services going, but they are being let down by an SNP government more interested in fiddling the figures than fixing the waiting lists. 'Scots needs NHS mental health services that they can count on and we need a change in government to deliver that.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The latest Public Health Scotland data shows that more than 74,000 people started treatment in psychological therapies last year. 'One in two patients are starting treatment within three weeks of referral and there was a significant increase of 7.5 per cent of patients starting treatment in the last quarter. 'This has been made possible by the hard work of our psychology services workforce which has increased by 61.8 per cent in the last decade. 'We want to ensure that all people in Scotland can access the right help, at the right time to support their mental and physical health. 'We continue to work with NHS Boards that are not on track to meet the standard that 90% of patients begin treatment within 18 weeks of referral.' *Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.
Daily Record
05-06-2025
- General
- Daily Record
Over 4,000 people from the Lothians languishing on NHS waiting list to see psychologist
Freedom of Information Requests revealed that some 22,880 across Scotland are currently on a psychologist waiting list. Over 4,000 people from across the Lothians are languishing on an NHS waiting list to see a psychologist. Freedom of Information Requests revealed that some 22,880 across Scotland are currently on a psychologist waiting list. Dr Pavan Srireddy, vice-chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said: 'While concerning, these figures come as no surprise. The unprecedented demand for services and critical gaps in the mental health workforce is already leading to unacceptably long waits for mental health care and treatment. 'Working on the frontline we see a postcode lottery of specialist mental health services across the country, but our patients deserve so much better than this. 'Alarmingly, waiting times may be even higher because the Scottish Government don't consider the rise in people seeking help for neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism or ADHD.' NHS Lothian had the longest list, with 4,287 patients waiting to be seen. This was followed by Greater Glasgow and Clyde on 3,733 and Tayside on 2,821. Grampian had 2,736 patients waiting, Forth Valley had 2,729 and Lanarkshire had 2,097. Scottish Labour Mental Health spokesperson Paul Sweeney said 'These shocking figures lay bare the true scale of Scotland's mental health crisis and the SNP's woeful failure to deliver the support needed. 'Behind these figures are people who have been failed in their darkest hour by an NHS that is no longer truly free and available at the point of need. 'NHS staff are working tirelessly to keep overstretched mental health services going, but they are being let down by an SNP government more interested in fiddling the figures than fixing the waiting lists. 'Scots needs NHS mental health services that they can count on and we need a change in government to deliver that.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The latest Public Health Scotland data shows that more than 74,000 people started treatment in psychological therapies last year. 'One in two patients are starting treatment within three weeks of referral and there was a significant increase of 7.5 per cent of patients starting treatment in the last quarter. 'This has been made possible by the hard work of our psychology services workforce which has increased by 61.8 per cent in the last decade. 'We want to ensure that all people in Scotland can access the right help, at the right time to support their mental and physical health. 'We continue to work with NHS Boards that are not on track to meet the standard that 90% of patients begin treatment within 18 weeks of referral.'
Daily Record
05-06-2025
- Health
- Daily Record
Nearly 23,000 Scots stuck on NHS waiting list to see psychologist
EXCLUSIVE: Freedom of Information Requests revealed that some 22,880 are currently on a psychologist waiting list - with NHS Lothian having the longest list. Nearly 23,000 Scots are languishing on an NHS waiting list to see a psychologist. Freedom of Information Requests revealed that some 22,880 are currently on a psychologist waiting list. Dr Pavan Srireddy, vice-chair of the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland, said: 'While concerning, these figures come as no surprise. The unprecedented demand for services and critical gaps in the mental health workforce is already leading to unacceptably long waits for mental health care and treatment. 'Working on the frontline we see a postcode lottery of specialist mental health services across the country, but our patients deserve so much better than this. 'Alarmingly, waiting times may be even higher because the Scottish Government don't consider the rise in people seeking help for neurodevelopmental conditions such as Autism or ADHD." NHS Lothian had the longest list, with 4,287 patients waiting to be seen. This was followed by Greater Glasgow and Clyde on 3,733 and Tayside on 2,821. Grampian had 2,736 patients waiting, Forth Valley had 2,729 and Lanarkshire had 2,097. The only other health board with more than 1,000 people waiting was NHS Fife, on 1,746. Dr Srireddy continued: 'The situation is only set to get worse if there is no action. Targets are missed but what we need is ringfenced funding and resources ploughed in at local level. 'We also urgently need a strategy to not just recruit more psychiatrists, but to retain our experienced doctors who sadly face excessive workloads, stress and burnout due to staff shortages leading them to leave permanent roles. 'Above all, we need ring-fenced mental health funding to reach the government's own 10% budget commitment and ensure adequate resources are put in place urgently, for recruitment and retention.' Campaigner Peter Todd - who waited five years for mental health treatment - said: "Many of our leaders have no idea much patient's lives are affected by waiting years for psychological treatment because they have no sense of what goes on in the real world. "No doubt we will here covid being used as an excuse. But that doesn't wash because I was forced to wait 5 years back in 2018 due to being a victim of the MP Cyril Smith scandal which I gave evidence at the Historical Abuse Inquiry about. "I look forward to John Swinney campaigning in Caithness in the run up to the Holyrood election, so he can hear my experience and how my Iife was ripped apart because of his parties inept running of mental health services which forced me to wait five years." Scottish Labour Mental Health spokesperson Paul Sweeney said 'These shocking figures lay bare the true scale of Scotland's mental health crisis and the SNP's woeful failure to deliver the support needed. 'Behind these figures are people who have been failed in their darkest hour by an NHS that is no longer truly free and available at the point of need. ' NHS staff are working tirelessly to keep overstretched mental health services going, but they are being let down by an SNP government more interested in fiddling the figures than fixing the waiting lists. 'Scots needs NHS mental health services that they can count on and we need a change in government to deliver that.' A Scottish Government spokesperson said: 'The latest Public Health Scotland data shows that more than 74,000 people started treatment in psychological therapies last year. 'One in two patients are starting treatment within three weeks of referral and there was a significant increase of 7.5% of patients starting treatment in the last quarter. 'This has been made possible by the hard work of our psychology services workforce which has increased by 61.8% in the last decade. 'We want to ensure that all people in Scotland can access the right help, at the right time to support their mental and physical health. We continue to work with NHS Boards that are not on track to meet the standard that 90% of patients begin treatment within 18 weeks of referral.'
