1. Who Prescribes ADHD Medication?
- Specialist responsibility: Only a psychiatrist, paediatrician, or ADHD specialist nurse can start you on ADHD medication.
- Initial monitoring: The specialist will trial different medications/doses, monitor side effects, and stabilise your treatment plan.
- GP role: Once your dose is stable, your GP may agree to continue prescribing under a SCA — but only under certain conditions.
2. What is a Shared Care Agreement (SCA)?
- An official agreement between your GP and the ADHD specialist service.
- It sets out who is responsible for each part of your care:
- Specialist: Diagnosis, initiation, and dose adjustments.
- GP: Ongoing repeat prescriptions, blood pressure/weight checks, and basic monitoring.
- Patient: Attending reviews, following treatment guidance, and reporting side effects.
3. What Happens Without Shared Care?
- If there’s no SCA, the GP cannot prescribe ADHD medication (even if you have a private diagnosis).
- In that case, you would need to:
- Continue getting prescriptions directly from the specialist (private or NHS).
- Or request that your specialist arrange a shared care handover to the surgery.
4. Monitoring & Reviews
Even under shared care, GPs often require:
- Regular check-ups: blood pressure, pulse, and weight (usually every 6 months).
- Annual review: sometimes with the GP, sometimes with the specialist.
- Specialist re-referral: if doses need changing, side effects occur, or there are complications.