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Prescriptions for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) continue to rise, latest figures from the NHS show.
According to data published by the NHS Business Services Authority (NHS BSA) on 4 December 2025, in the second quarter (Q2) of 2025/2026, 297,000 patients were prescribed drugs for ADHD, an increase of 5% compared with the first quarter (Q1) of 2025/2026.
In Q2 2025/2026, the number of central nervous system (CNS) stimulants and drugs prescribed for ADHD increased by 5% to more than 1 million items — up from 965,000 items in Q1, the data reveal.
The figures also show that in Q2 2025/2026, males aged 10–14 years represented the largest number of diagnosed patients, at 46,320, followed by males aged 15-19 years, at 32,962 patients.
The next largest groups of diagnosed patients were females aged 15–19 years at 16,896 patients and females aged 25–29 years at 16,236, the data show. Overall, women represent more than one-third (41.6%, n=123,690) of identified patients in Q2 2025/2026.
The figures also highlighted that identified patients also included six males aged 4 years or under and 43 people aged 90 years or over (20 female and 23 male).
In Q2 2025/2026, the cost of prescribing CNS stimulants and drugs for ADHD items rose by 2.3% to £45m compared with the previous quarter.
According to data published by NHS BSA on 24 July 2025, the number of adults in England prescribed medication for ADHD increased by almost one-quarter between 2023/2024 and 2024/2025.
The new figures come as health secretary Wes Streeting announced an independent review into mental health conditions, ADHD and autism on 4 December 2025, which will examine the prevalence, trends and inequalities associated with the conditions.
Commenting on the NHS data, Henry Shelford, chief executive of charity ADHD UK, said: “We should celebrate this in the same way we celebrate increases in the identification and treatment of other medical conditions. It shows more people getting the help and support they need. But the stigmatisation of ADHD means too often this identification is seen as a bad thing — it isn’t.
“We hope that this recognition will continue to uptick but recent news has us very worried about that. We have seen NHS areas close their list to new referrals, constraints on right to choose and enormous service cuts. We’re seeing NHS wait times going up significantly.”
Referring to the government’s independent review, Shelford said: “ADHD is not over-diagnosed — ADHD is an underdiagnosed and under-supported medical issue.
“A BBC study showed the average wait for an ADHD diagnosis in England is eight years. The idea that you can achieve overdiagnosis with an average wait of nearly a decade is just preposterous.”
Shelford added: “The targets of the announced report are laudable: ‘to raise the healthiest generation, increase healthy life expectancy, and reduce suicide’. People with ADHD are more at risk of suicide and have a lower life expectancy.
“One in four women and one in ten men with ADHD will, at some time, try to take their own lives. On average, a woman with ADHD will die nine years younger than her peers, and a man seven years younger than his peers.
“The issues and challenges that ADHD can bring are finally being recognised, and our potentially naive hope is that this review will progress the recognition of ADHD.”
In November 2025, the ADHD Taskforce — an independent group commissioned by NHS England — said that pharmacists should have the opportunity to train in more specialist roles for ADHD care to improve links with secondary care and reduce NHS waiting times.
