An investigation has found specialist adult ADHD services that diagnose and treat the neurodevelopmental condition are closing their doors to new patients, as they struggle to cope with growing demand. 

It comes amid a growing number of people seeking diagnostic assessments. In March, figures revealed over half a million people in England were waiting for ADHD assessments - with 144,000 of them having already waited for two years or more.

The surge has been put down in large to a better understanding of ADHD, particularly how it presents in girls, resulting in more adults realising they may have the condition.

And according to a report by an NHS taskforce set up to address the crisis, it is being underdiagnosed and undertreated. It called for joint efforts across health, education and the criminal justice system to identify people with it.  

It also called for training for community NHS staff such as GPs and pharmacists to get more involved in supporting people with ADHD, rather than just specialist services who currently are responsible for this.

But at this critical time, the BBC found in 15 local areas these specialist services have closed their waiting lists and 31 have introduced tighter criteria based on age or severity, as they struggle to cope with the sheer number of people needing support.

Their investigation uncovered information on 59 services, which is the majority of those providing support in England, after submitting freedom of information requests (FOIs).

The chair of the taskforce, Professor Anita Thapar, speaking to the BBC, said the broadcasters' findings were 'disturbing', warning turning away patients could pose 'enormous risks' for patients. 

The broadcaster found that in some areas of the country, the lack of available support has been ongoing for years. 

It discovered that in Cheshire, the service for adults has not been accepting new patients since 2019.

One region, the Coventry and Warwickshire Integrated Care Board is being threatened with legal action for restricting adult assessments to only adults below the age of 25.

On the fresh findings Dr Selina Warlow, a psychologist and clinical director at The Nook Clinic told the Daily Mail: 'The BBC's investigation highlights the stark reality we're seeing across the country.

'ADHD services are under immense strain, leaving many people without access to timely assessment and support. The NHS is an incredible institution, but it's also overwhelmed.

'What many people don't realise is that the NHS itself relies on private sector partnerships to manage these backlogs. Clinics on the NHS Right to Choose list are, in fact, private providers, that are contracted by the NHS.'

NHS Right to Choose gives patients in England the legal right to choose your mental healthcare provider (if their wait for an assessment is too long and they live in England), but few people know about it.

The neurodevelopmental condition - attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) - affects concentration, impulse control and activity levels - but it affects different people differently.

ADHD was previously only believed to affect boys—as with autism—meaning there's been a huge surge in women discovering they have it later in life, but men get diagnosed at all ages, too. 

Recent studies have found women and girls may have been going undiagnosed because they present with the inattentive type or less obvious internalised hyperactivity.

There are three types of ADHD: innatentive, hyperactive-impulsive and combined type which is a combination of the two.

In adulthood, the inattentive type can manifest as being easily distracted or forgetful, finding it hard to organise your time, finding it hard to follow instructions or finish tasks as well as losing things often, like your wallet, mobile or keys.

Meanwhile, the hyperactive-impulsive type can present as having a lot of energy or feeling restless, being talkative or interrupting conversations and making quick decisions without thinking about what might happen.

Now that there is a growing understanding of how ADHD can present in females, more women are realising that they may have the neurodevelopmental condition and are seeking diagnoses.

In September, Scottish singer Annie Lennox revealed she was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 70, telling BBC radio show Woman's Hour it was helping her to understand herself better.

However, worryingly some studies have linked later diagnosis of the condition to premature death and others have shown that 80 per cent of adults with ADHD develop secondary conditions like depression or anxiety.