Closing the Gap in Neurodiversity and Mental Health Support

The growing recognition of neurodiversity, and ADHD in particular, is one of the most important shifts in public health awareness in a generation. For many people, it has put language around challenges they have lived with for years.

ADHD is estimated to affect around 4.4% of the population, or approximately 2.5 million people in the UK. Yet the number of people diagnosed and treated remains materially below that level (estimates suggest it may be closer to 2.3%) leaving a substantial number of people either undiagnosed or unsupported.

As recognition of ADHD has increased, more people have begun to identify symptoms in themselves or their families and seek support. This growing awareness is positive, but it has also exposed the scale of unmet need and placed significant pressure on assessment and treatment services. For those seeking support through their local NHS service, waiting times now often stretch into several years.

The consequences of delayed assessment and support can be significant, both for individuals and for the wider system. They can be seen in poorer educational outcomes, lower labour market participation and productivity, higher rates of co-occurring mental health issues, and wider social costs. The Independent ADHD Taskforce recently estimated the cost of inaction at ~£17bn per year.

This is where high-quality independent providers can play an important role, particularly where digitally enabled models can expand access beyond local capacity constraints. QPE’s partnership with Psychiatry UK, a leading provider of virtual psychiatry services including neurodiversity assessment and treatment, reflects that belief in practice. The ambition is to strengthen the wider system for patients by adding capacity, improving access, and helping more people get the right support, sooner.

Why timely support matters

Our interest in neurodiversity and mental health is not only professional – it’s personal, too. Several colleagues across QPE have seen first-hand the impact neurodiversity and mental health can have on loved ones and families, and the profound difference that diagnosis, appropriate treatment and better support can make. Those experiences demonstrate that with the right combination of clinical care, medication where appropriate, coaching, and reasonable adjustments in education or work, these conditions are often highly manageable.

The difficulty is that many people reach that support too late. Children can miss help during important educational years. Adults can spend years being labelled as disorganised, anxious or underperforming, without anyone identifying the underlying need. By the time support arrives, the individual may also be dealing with low confidence, burnout or strained relationships. Earlier identification, clearer pathways and practical support can help people understand themselves, access the right interventions and participate more fully in daily life.

Why demand is structural

The increase in ADHD demand is sometimes described as a short-term spike, but analysis of Google Trends data shows a significant rise in ADHD search interest across multiple countries between 2004 and 2026. Prescribing trends tell a similar story – there’s been an 118% increase in ADHD medication prescribing in England between 2019 and 2024, with similar double-digit annual growth across several European countries. The data is consistent with a broad and prolonged shift in public awareness.

Several forces reinforce the trend. Stigma is reducing, ADHD is being recognised more often in adults and women, and social media has made the topic more visible. COVID also prompted many people to reflect more seriously on their mental health, attention and stress. In families, one diagnosis often leads others to seek assessment as the same traits become more apparent across generations.

There are legitimate questions about over-diagnosis, and standards matter. Not every case should lead to the same pathway. Medication is not always the answer. But, overall, the core point remains: awareness and demand have risen much faster than existing NHS assessment and treatment services have been able to absorb.

Building capacity without compromising quality

The public system is clearly under strain. NHS services cannot currently meet the level of need, and long waits and unclear pathways have pushed many to look for alternative routes to care. Under Right to Choose, independent providers have stepped in to help expand access to assessment, treatment and continuity of care.

The strongest providers are not simply adding more appointments. They are building care models designed to work safely at scale, combining specialist clinicians, structured pathways, digital tools and robust clinical governance. High-quality virtual services are an important part of that, allowing care to be delivered nationally rather than being limited by local capacity. Done well, these models can improve access while protecting consistency, transparency and patient experience.

Importantly, the need is not limited to neurodiversity. Similar themes apply across broader mental health, where capacity and coordination remain significant constraints. Psychiatry UK is now applying the experience it has built in high-volume neurodiversity care to support a broader range of mental health services, with the same emphasis on access, quality and scalable clinical delivery.

Backing better models of care

As awareness increases and stigma continues to reduce, demand for ADHD, autism and broader mental health services is likely to keep growing. The NHS alone cannot add capacity quickly enough, so the question is not whether independent providers should be involved, but what role the highest-quality providers should play.

This is not a simple capacity story. There is an opportunity to build better models of care that expand access while protecting clinical quality, transparency and trust. Responsible investment can support that by helping quality-focused providers invest in governance, safeguarding, clinician training, outcome measurement and the infrastructure needed to scale safely.

At QPE, we are investing behind Psychiatry UK because we believe it is well placed to help meet this generational challenge. But no single provider can close the gap alone. Progress will require collaboration across the system, and we are keen to work with clinicians, commissioners, providers and other stakeholders to build high-quality capacity, improve outcomes and make support easier to access for those who need it.