ADHD Shared Care Agreement Policy

Posted on 21/07/2025. Updated 07/06/2026

Important Notice Regarding ADHD Shared Care and Prescribing

At The Village Surgery, Timperley, we are committed to delivering fair, safe, and high-quality healthcare to all our patients. Following a review of current guidance from the Greater Manchester Medicines Management Group (GMMMG), we have updated our ADHD Shared Care Agreement (SCA) Policy and prescribing practices.

Key Changes to Our Policy

• We do not accept shared care agreements for ADHD medication for adults, whether the diagnosis or treatment is through the NHS, NHS Right to Choose, or private providers.
• We continue to prescribe ADHD medication for children under 18, with shared care agreements in place for NHS, NHS Right to Choose, and private providers.
• Once a child patient turns 18, they must be referred to adult ADHD services. Please be aware that shared care prescribing may then be declined by our practice for adult ADHD treatment.

Why We Have Made These Changes

Managing ADHD, particularly through medication, requires ongoing specialist oversight, regular reviews, and close monitoring. GPs are not currently locally resourced to provide this level of specialist care for ADHD medication prescribing and monitoring.

Understanding Shared Care Agreements (SCA)

A Shared Care Agreement is an arrangement between you, your GP, and a specialist (typically a psychiatrist) to allow your GP to continue prescribing a medication that has been initiated and stabilised by the specialist. These agreements are voluntary for GPs and are not mandatory or legally required.

ADHD Assessment Waiting Times & Right To Choose

The current wait time for the local ADHD assessment and management service is a significant number of years. Please see the link below for further information:

NHS Greater Manchester ICB ADHD Assessment Information collated by ADHD UK

As a result it is important to consider a right to choose NHS provider where the wait time may be significantly shorter. It is also important to consider whether the right to choose provider is authorised to provide long-term NHS ADHD Medication Prescriptions and Monitoring (without shared care from GP), please contact your chosen provider to check this before asking for a GP referral from us. For more information about Right To Choose, and some current providers, please use the weblink below:

Right to Choose – ADHD UK

UPDATE: Unfortunately Right to Choose availability is now significantly limited due to Indicative Activity Plans (IAPs) set by Manchester ICB.

Understanding Indicative Activity Plans (IAPs) and Your Right to Choose

While you have a legal Right to Choose your NHS-funded ADHD assessment provider, access to these services is managed through Indicative Activity Plans (IAPs).

IAPs are annual funding and capacity limits set by Manchester ICB. They cap the number of NHS-funded assessments each clinic can perform per year.

What this means for our patients:

• Your right remains intact: You can still select any approved provider for your assessment.

• Capacity limits apply: If a provider reaches their funded IAP limit for the year, they cannot accept new NHS referrals until their next allocation period begins.

• Flexibility may be needed: You may experience longer waiting times or need to consider alternative providers or private assessment if your preferred clinic has already reached its assessment capacity.

Our Commitment

At The Village Surgery, Timperley, we are committed to fair and clinically safe healthcare. Our ADHD prescribing and shared care policies are designed to support patients within the limits of our resources and the latest clinical guidance.

We appreciate your understanding and cooperation.