Taking the lead in improving adult ADHD services

Health Innovation North West Coast is leading a national programme to improve services for adults with ADHD.

At the heart of the programme is an innovative needs-led model that will be tested and evaluated across England.

The national programme began in autumn 2025 and has so far engaged with 19 integrated care boards (ICBs). It spans five health innovation networks and 10 ICBs are being supported with implementation, covering a population of around 20 million people.

Stakeholders from the North West of England, including those with experience of ADHD, clinicians, commissioners and system partners, co-designed the model during an 18-month programme.

The model aligns with the NHS 10 Year Health Plan and with recommendations from the national taskforce, and is currently being implemented by Cheshire and Merseyside ICB.

The model aims to save money, create time back to care, meet policy objectives and improve outcomes for individuals. It will redeploy existing resources and enhance primary care by introducing the following changes:

• Create an online education repository of self-care resources and electronic self-assessments
• Create a new neurodevelopmental practitioner (NDP) role to provide timely care closer to home
• Take a needs-led approach by creating a categorisation tool and associated support
• Ensure the digital infrastructure between primary and secondary care enables data-sharing
• Undertake annual reviews in primary care.

You can read more about the model here.

Philip Thomas, Programme Director, NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB, said: “Health Innovation North West Coast have provided real leadership in an absolutely vital area of work.

“They have brought together the appropriate people to co-design a solution and provided strategic oversight for the implementation of this approach across the ICB, including making sure this formula is adopted nationally.”

Charlotte Hall, Head of the National Neurodiversity Programme, Health Innovation Network, said: “We have been working on this programme for over five years and it is fantastic to see the original design not only becoming a reality across Cheshire and Merseyside ICB but generating such interest from so many other areas of the country."

The model focuses on introducing a primary care-based service in which NDPs work alongside specially trained GPs and undertake needs-led categorisation assessments and annual reviews, and provide support.

The assessment is an in-depth conversation in which the NDP explores ADHD‑related symptoms and functional impact to identify the level of need and relevant support. This approach frees up specialist capacity for the most complex assessments, while others are supported earlier and closer to home.

As part of the national programme the learnings from the work in Cheshire and Merseyside are being used to accelerate the progress across other ICB areas so the model can be tested more widely. A real-world evaluation, overseen by a national evaluation steering group, is embedded in the programme and will focus on optimising implementation in year one, and impact and outcomes (improved access to services, patient and staff experience, cost savings) in years two and three.

Health Innovation East Midlands is delivering the digital arm of the cluster programme which aims to identify and showcase digital solutions that can support the implementation of the model. This is supported by learning from their Digital for Neurodiversity Hubs, including blueprints, implementation insights and facilitation support.