HSE SERVICES

HSE SERVICES

Services for children with ADHD are provided by the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Teams (CAMHs). All areas in Ireland have access to a CAMHs Team.

 

By contrast there were, until recently, no public services available for adults with ADHD.

For this reason, the HSE designed a Model of Care for Adults with ADHD. This is known as the Adult ADHD National Clinical Programme. The Model of Care depends on the allocation of additional funding by the Department of Health (DOH) to set-up Adult ADHD Teams for specific catchment areas. To date, 7 such teams have been established with staff being recruited for two further teams.

 

Current Adult ADHD Services funded by DOH.

These are in place for the following catchment areas:

• CHO1: Adult ADHD Team for Sligo/Leitrim/Donegal

• CHO3: Adult ADHD Team for Limerick/Clare/North Tipperary

• CHO6: Adult ADHD Team covering Dun Laoghaire, Dublin South East and Wicklow (North, South and East)

• CHO4 – Cork: covering North Lee, South Lee and North Cork

• CHO4 – Kerry: covering Kerry and West Cork

• CHO7: Dublin South City, Dublin South West and Dublin West

Queries about referrals to the above services should be directed to the local area.

 

Making a referral to an Adult ADHD Team

As outlined in the National Clinical Programme, referral to the new teams is for people with moderate to severe ADHD.

 

Specifically, people who have:

I. Two of the three core symptoms of ADHD (inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity)

AND

II. Significant impairment in two or more aspects of their life (personal and social relationships, education, work, managing finances, road traffic accidents etc.)

 

If you suspect you may have moderate to severe ADHD including significant functional impairments, you may ask your GP to refer you to your local adult mental health team for an initial assessment using the designated referral form to collect all relevant information. This initial referral is to ensure that should you have a significant mental illness such as anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder or psychosis that this is treated first before onward referral to the Adult ADHD Service. You will also be asked to complete two screening questionnaires for ADHD at this initial assessment.

 

There is a modified pathway for young adults transitioning from Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS) where each young person should have a formal re-evaluation of their ADHD status carried out by CAMHS one year prior to their 18th birthday to ensure the diagnostic criteria for ADHD are met and an ongoing need for ADHD specific medication is established.

 

Assessment and Treatment

Each referral received is reviewed and if it meets the criteria above an appointment is sent out. Following assessment and treatment which usually takes about 3 to 6 months you will be discharged back to your GP.

 

Areas funded by DOH in process of being set up

• CHO8: Midland counties (Laois, Offaly, Longford, and Westmeath) as well as Kildare and West Wicklow.

• CHO1/CHO8: Cavan/Monaghan/ Louth Meath- Staff being recruited and subject to this will be operational late 2025.

 

Areas with no specific Adult ADHD Services

There are still some parts of the country that do not have a dedicated Adult ADHD Service. The Department of Health has committed to funding these areas in 2025.

 

Areas without a service currently are:

• CHO2: Galway, Roscommon and Mayo

• CHO5: Waterford, Wexford, Carlow, Kilkenny and South Tipperary.

• CHO9: North Dublin and County

 

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation freely available on ADHD which results in people seeking referral for diagnosis as a first step. The Adult ADHD Services are currently being overwhelmed by a very high number of referrals which has resulted in some limiting access. For this reason, all people who suspect they may have ADHD should access information on ADHD via reputable sources such as ADHD Ireland as outlined earlier. The latter also has access to other excellent resources which would be of benefit including support groups and a psychology led group intervention.

 

Information on local waiting lists

The HSE Mental Health National Programmes Office does not have any information on this. The local Mental Health Service should be contacted for any waiting list queries.