A Survey of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Follow-up Services Provided by Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Departments in Scotland

Abstract

Current clinical guidelines offer few recommendations for follow-up of patients diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We aimed to establish what follow-up services were in place for children and young people with ADHD across Scotland, to highlight variations within these services and to examine their level of adherence to those national guidelines on follow-up which do exist. A postal survey of child and adolescent psychiatry departments across Scotland was carried out. Seventeen departments were contacted and the response rate was 100%. We compared results from areas with and without designated ADHD follow-up teams. We looked specifically at numbers and type of professional involved and the structure of the follow-up services provided. Forty one percent of services had a designated ADHD follow-up team. These services held a significantly higher proportion of regular ADHD clinics and involved more staff from different professional groups. There were wide variations in services provided by child and adolescent psychiatrists for ADHD follow-up across Scotland. Further research on the effects on prognosis and outcome of designated ADHD services would allow for the enhancement of current clinical guidelines and more effective service planning and provision.