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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, according to a report published by the ADHD Taskforce.
In the second part of a report on ADHD services and support in England, published on 6 November 2025, the taskforce recommended that pharmacists should be able to “train in more specialist aspects of ADHD care, such as assessment, treatment and prescribing, with the same quality control measures as for other providers”.
Expanded training “should enable better links with secondary care so that stepped care pathways are established in the same way as for other common chronic conditions (e.g. diabetes)”, the report said.
It also suggested that this could be achieved by providing ring-fenced funding for locally commissioned services or through new neighbourhood provider contracts.
The ADHD Taskforce was commissioned by the NHS England board in March 2024 to work with the government, the NHS and the voluntary sector to identify ways to improve care for people living with ADHD.
In its report, the taskforce also recommended that to improve NHS waiting times, prescribing pharmacists could provide “post-diagnostic clinical management and support, prescribing and follow-up (including physical health) for many, as is the case for other chronic common conditions”.
“This would allow more expensive senior, secondary care medical staff to focus more on those with the highest complexities and supervision,” it added.
The recommendations follow the first part of the report on ADHD services in England, published in June 2025, which found that the condition was “under-recognised, under-diagnosed and under-treated (including with medication)”.
Commenting on the second part of its report, Shilpa Patel, pharmacist and senior practice partner at WellBN GP Surgery in Brighton, East Sussex, said: “The new ADHD Taskforce report is very positive for primary care and shows that ADHD can be treated like other common long-term conditions.
“Ring-fenced funding or neighbourhood provider contracts could support local ADHD services and help set up clear stepped-care pathways, so patients only go to secondary care when needed. Primary care could manage assessments and ongoing care, including prescribing, monitoring side effects and checking physical health, which would allow secondary care to focus on the most complex cases.”
“This approach would improve access, reduce long waiting lists and provide continuity of care in the community, making ADHD treatment more efficient, cost-effective and patient-friendly,” she added.
In July 2025, data published by the NHS Business Services Authority showed that the number of adults prescribed medication for the condition had risen by almost one-quarter in the past year.
