UK sees massive surge in searches for private assessments

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ASPartOfMe
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09 Aug 2023, 1:13 pm

Huge surge in number of people seeking private autism assessments

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There has been a huge surge in the number of Google searches for private autism assessments in the UK, according to a new analysis by Brain in Hand.

In the last three months alone, there has been a staggering 900% increase in searches related to private autism and ADHD assessment in the UK.

Furthermore, there has been an average of 5,000 searches per month for ‘private autism assessment’, and a 5000% increase in searches for terms such as ‘high functioning autism’ and ‘stimming’ in the last quarter.

Some people have been waiting two years for autism assessment
This new data highlights the escalating demand for autism assessment, with roughly 140,000 people currently waiting for an assessment on the NHS.

While NICE guidance states that no one should wait longer than three months for an assessment following a referral, data shows that the vast majority of people (86%) have been waiting longer than 13 weeks, and some have been waiting longer than two years.

Brain in Hand says this research paints a concerning picture, particularly as some local health and care partnerships are removing access to autism and ADHD assessment for adults due to the lack of resources.

”A broken system”
With the number of people waiting for an autism assessment expected to reach 190,000 by 2024, Brain in Hand is now urgently calling for “transformative change”.

The digital innovation healthcare company says the growing backlog of autism assessments is “a symptom of a broken system” and digital solutions will be needed to reduce pressure on NHS services.

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renaeden
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10 Aug 2023, 8:24 pm

Mountain Goat comes to mind here.

Weight Of Memory
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10 Aug 2023, 10:12 pm

Why the sudden increase now?

Edna3362
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10 Aug 2023, 10:25 pm

Huh.
What does this increase says about?.. Not the stats, mind you, but 'why'.

It could mean a few things in my opinion.

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Handa Rei
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11 Aug 2023, 4:29 am

I'm not surprised. The waiting lists on the NHS were bad enough before covid, I dread to think what they're like now. Social media probably has a hand in this as well. I hear autism is a rather popular subject for videos on TikTok.

ToughDiamond
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11 Aug 2023, 5:36 am

I'm not surprised people are giving up on the NHS. When they're short of money they make you wait for years. That's no use to somebody who needs a diagnosis now.

carlos55
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11 Aug 2023, 6:19 am

Private assessments are ok for older people or borderline cases the problem is even if you’re diagnosed don’t expect government help.

The simple reason they don’t trust private diagnosis for things like welfare applications.

The only exception maybe where the nhs use approved contractors that can prove they are of the same standard

Even so expect a struggle for recognition for anything private and off the gov radar

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Lunella
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11 Aug 2023, 10:07 am

I went private here, very quick and pleasant experience. It took about 4 hours of long tedious questions though.

If you're thinking of going private then there are only certain places that the NHS choose to accept the diagnosis so please be careful.

The NHS said the waiting list was like 2 years long. Ridiculous.

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ASPartOfMe
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11 Aug 2023, 10:58 am

Outsider Opinion:
What the article did not mention is the price of a private assessment going up. With a rapidly increasing demand for private assessments, private practitioner's must be raising their prices. This means more and more people will not be able to afford private assessments, meaning even more people going through the NHS, longer waits and more triaging. That would mean going backwoods to a time where autistics who have jobs, are in relationships etc won’t be assessed by the NHS and private practitioners who don’t have endless time.

Even the crash program that is needed has to take time to implement and comes with all the pitfalls rush jobs do.

What am I missing?

carlos55
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11 Aug 2023, 3:22 pm

ASPartOfMe wrote:

Successive UK gov have failed to keep up NHS spending in line with population growth

That as well as people living longer puts more demand on things.

There was a news article recently the NHS waiting list stands at approx 7.5 million (all conditions). Baring this in mind UK population is 67 million.

As Lunella stated the gov only respect the diagnosis from certain selected private clinics.

These act as gov contractors rather than the kind of truly independent clinics that operate in the US, so they are almost a kind of fast track NHS approved service that you have to pay for.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-66460309

Weight Of Memory
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11 Aug 2023, 6:59 pm

Too few medical professionals and mental health care professionals (and school teachers) in the US as well as the UK.

If autism is a hot topic on TikTok and that's causing an upsurge of interest in evaluation how many of those folks are really autistic.

An upsurge I'm anxiety and depression in response to the pandemic and other word events tracks. Becoming a misanthrope because the world is screwed up doesn't make someone autistic.

Mona Pereth
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13 Aug 2023, 4:40 pm

Weight Of Memory wrote:

If autism is a hot topic on TikTok and that's causing an upsurge of interest in evaluation how many of those folks are really autistic.

Autism has been an intermittently "hot topic," in news media and/or on various Internet platforms, for decades now.

The vast majority of people who seek autism evaluations are deemed to really be autistic, although a minority turn out to just have social anxiety, etc., for reasons other than a developmental disability.

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blitzkrieg
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13 Aug 2023, 7:57 pm

It is difficult to get a diagnosis of autism on the NHS, yet possible.

It depends on how obviously autistic a person is, and how well they convey the information of their personal situation & why they think a diagnosis is applicable.

Autistic services have improved on the NHS in recent years, though they are still far from ideal, imo.

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