People seeking diagnosis of and treatment for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will soon be able to access support from their general practioners (GPs) in NSW, the state government says.
The announcement from the NSW government on Monday heralds a significant change from the present healthcare practice, whereby most people seeking a diagnosis, management and ongoing prescription medication for ADHD must see a specialist.
The government says seeing a specialist is often extremely expensive and many patients wait months or years to get a diagnosis, or can’t access treatment at all.
The changes are to allow GPs to provide ongoing ADHD prescriptions for children and adults who are on stable doses of medication, without the need of a formal arrangement.
A smaller number of GPs are to be enabled to diagnose and initiate medication where appropriate.
In both instances, GPs are to be required to undertake accredited training and the government says they will receive support, with expressions of interest for GPs to undertake extra education and training requirements to be sought in coming months.
Up to a thousand GPs are to be supported to complete extra training to allow continuation of prescriptions once a patient has been stabilised, with funding for the training to come from NSW Health.
Early support: children to be prioritised
The government says the reforms will be implemented in a staged approach.
There’s to be an initial focus on prescriptions for children on the understanding a delay in diagnosis can have a significant impact on a child’s development, such as poorer academic progress, employment opportunities and mental health.
NSW is the third state to implement reforms to make it easier for people to access treatment for ADHD, with Queensland GPs able to prescribe certain ADHD medications for children without a prescribing approval, and Western Australian specialist GPs allowed to provide a diagnosis and treatment.
The government says GP training is to start in ‘coming months’ and the ability for GPs to provide ongoing prescriptions for children is expected to open up in early 2026.
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