If GPs Can Diagnose ADHD in Australia, Why Is the NHS Still Making Us Wait Years?

Australia just did something the UK should be paying close attention to. Under a new reform in New South Wales, GPs will now be allowed to diagnose ADHD and prescribe medication for both adults and children.

Not psychiatrists, not specialists, just trained GPs.

Yes, it makes sense. And yes, we should absolutely be doing it here too. Right now, trying to get an ADHD diagnosis through the NHS is an agonisingly slow, attritional process. 

First, you have to convince someone to take your symptoms seriously. Then you wait. Then you wait some more. It’s not unusual to be stuck in assessment queues for two years or more. In that time, people’s lives unravel. Their jobs, relationships, studies, and mental health get pushed to breaking point. Something I can identify with, certainly.

Meanwhile, private clinics charge thousands, just to say what most people already know. It creates a two-tier system where the financially privileged get answers and the rest get left behind. Australia’s model doesn’t scrap specialist care. It simply expands access.

Under their new system, 100 GPs will be trained to diagnose and start treatment, and 1,000 more will be allowed to continue prescriptions for stable ADHD patients. That’s how you relieve pressure on the system. That’s how you make sure people don’t fall apart while they’re waiting. The argument that GPs aren't capable doesn’t hold up.

GPs already prescribe antidepressants and manage complex medications. They’re often the first person someone turns to when things feel unmanageable. With proper training, they are more than equipped to support ADHD patients, especially those with clear, straightforward presentations.

This isn't about handing out pills casually. It’s about recognising that ADHD is real, it’s underdiagnosed, and it can be treated. But only if people can access care in time. The current system in the UK is stretched to the point of cruelty.

People are left without answers, support, or medication while the system debates whether their distress is urgent enough. It shouldn't take a breakdown to get help. Australia is not replacing psychiatrists. It’s supplementing them. It’s decentralising care in a way that actually makes healthcare more accessible.

Imagine how many people here could get back on their feet, back into work, back into education, if the NHS took a similar step.

Training GPs to assess and support people with ADHD is not radical. What’s radical is continuing to pretend that the current model works.

It doesn’t. And it’s failing people every single day.