FOI2026/2092

I am writing to request information under the Freedom of Information Act 2000. My request relates directly to how assessments for ADHD and Autism in Children and Adults that are privately commissioned by independent providers are treated by the NHS, when patients who receive a diagnosis from an external provider but wish to access support for this within the NHS.

Please provide:

1. Any current policy, guidance, protocol, standard operating procedure, or position statement relating to the acceptance, recognition, review, ratification, or rejection of privately commissioned autism and ADHD assessments for children and adults.
2. Confirmation of whether the ICB operates, or supports providers operating, any policy or practice whereby:

o        privately commissioned autism assessments are routinely rejected;

o        privately commissioned ADHD assessments are routinely rejected; or

o        individuals are routinely required to undergo NHS reassessment regardless of the quality or professional credentials of the independent assessment.

3. Details of any process, guidelines, or training materials used to determine whether an independently commissioned autism or ADHD assessment is accepted or recognised by NHS services.
4. Information regarding any requirements for reassessment by an NHS service.

5. Any guidance relating to assessments completed by multidisciplinary teams.
6. Copies of any audits, reviews, or governance documents produced within the last five years relating to the acceptance or use of privately commissioned autism or ADHD assessments.

7. Any policy or guidelines that restrict or prevent General Practitioners from entering into Shared Care Agreements with private providers following an ADHD diagnosis and titration of medication

8. Any policy, guidance, protocol, standard operating procedure, or position statement relating to Shared Care Agreements for ADHD medication.
9. Formal or Informal lists of:

o        Approved providers;

o        Preferred providers;

o        Providers whose reports are subject to additional scrutiny;

o        Providers whose reports are not accepted

10. Information regarding:

o        How many requests for Shared Care Agreements relating to privately diagnosed ADHD have been received?

o        How many were accepted?

o        How many were declined?

   over the last three financial years

11. Summary of the recorded reasons for declining Shared Care Agreements following private ADHD diagnosis.
12. Any audit, review, risk assessment, service evaluation, or investigation relating to private ADHD assessment providers or Shared Care arrangements within the last five years
13. Copies of any meeting minutes, briefing papers, policy discussions, governance papers, or correspondence produced within the last three years relating to:

• Private ADHD assessments;
• Shared Care Agreements following private diagnosis;
• Concerns regarding the quality or validity of private ADHD assessments.

1. A word document was sent to the requester with this response.  If you require a copy of the full response, together with the attachments, please contact NHS GM’s FOI team – nhsgm.foi@nhs.net
2. NHS Greater Manchester ICB does not operate or support a blanket policy or practice of routinely rejecting privately commissioned autism or ADHD assessments, nor does it require individuals to undergo NHS reassessment solely because their assessment was undertaken privately. Providers may, however, review existing assessments where key information is omitted or missing, or where further information is required to support clinical decision-making. Any decision to undertake further assessment should be based on the individual circumstances and clinical requirements of the case, rather than solely on whether the original assessment was privately commissioned.
3. The ICB does not operate a blanket policy requiring all independently commissioned assessments to be rejected or repeated. Recognition of an existing assessment by an NHS service remains subject to the relevant clinical requirements and the information available. Providers may need to review an existing assessment where key information is omitted or missing, or where further information is required to inform clinical decision-making.

The accreditation process relates to provider assurance and does not, in itself, determine whether every individual assessment undertaken independently will be accepted by another NHS service.

3. NHS Greater Manchester ICB has no specific policy or blanket requirement for individuals to undergo reassessment by an NHS service following an independently commissioned ADHD or autism assessment. Any decision to undertake further assessment is a matter for the relevant provider, based on the individual circumstances and clinical information available. Providers may review existing assessments where key information is omitted or missing or where further information is required to inform clinical decision-making.
4. See response to Q1
5. NHS Greater Manchester ICB holds no audits, reviews or governance documents produced within the last five years specifically relating to the acceptance or use of privately commissioned ADHD or autism assessments.
6. NHS Greater Manchester ICB’s approach to shared care prescribing is informed by the Greater Manchester Medicines Management Group (GMMMG) approved shared care protocols. These protocols set out the responsibilities of specialist services and general practitioners for prescribing and monitoring ADHD medication. Shared care is a voluntary arrangement, and GP practices are not obliged to accept a shared care request. Decisions should be made in accordance with the relevant protocol and consideration of clinical safety and the responsibilities involved.

The current GMMMG-approved shared care protocols are available here: GMMMG – Approved Shared Care Protocols.

7. See response to Q7
8. NHS Greater Manchester ICB commissions healthcare services through formal NHS commissioning arrangements. Independent providers undertaking privately commissioned ADHD or autism assessments do not hold an NHS contract with NHS GM solely by virtue of providing these assessments privately. NHS GM therefore does not maintain formal or informal lists of approved or preferred private providers, providers whose reports are subject to additional scrutiny, or providers whose reports are not accepted.
9. NHS Greater Manchester ICB does not hold this information. Requests for shared care agreements relating to privately diagnosed ADHD are managed by individual GP practices, which hold the relevant records. The ICB is therefore unable to provide figures for the number of requests received, accepted or declined over the last three financial years.
10. NHS Greater Manchester ICB does not hold this information. Decisions to accept or decline shared care agreements are made by individual GP practices, which hold any records of the reasons for declining such requests. The ICB is therefore unable to provide a summary of the recorded reasons.
11. NHS Greater Manchester ICB holds no audits, reviews, risk assessments, service evaluations or investigations specifically relating to private ADHD assessment providers or shared care arrangements within the last five years.
12. NHS Greater Manchester ICB does not oversee private companies providing privately commissioned ADHD assessments and does not hold a contractual relationship with these providers solely by virtue of their provision of private assessments.

The ICB has no documents within the scope of this request specifically relating to the oversight of private ADHD assessment providers, shared care agreements following private diagnosis, or concerns regarding the quality or validity of privately commissioned ADHD assessments.