Lawyers for the psychologist say the official diagnosis was made later by a psychiatrist. but our evidence shows vulnerable patients are being let down. these people were supposed to help me and they took advantage of me. i wasn t someone who needed help, i was just money to them. i go undercover as a patient at two other clinics and they also diagnosed me with adhd. all three clinics offered me powerful adhd medication. there is no doubt adhd can have a profound effect and many patients who go private will have the condition. but our investigation reveals how some clinics hand out unreliable diagnoses.
To a life of trauma, in squalid and cramped conditions. these camps are no place for a child. rajini vaidyanathan, bbc news, bangladesh. a bbc investigation has discovered that patients are being diagnosed with adhd or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder after online assessments that are unreliable. an undercover panorama reporter was seen by three private clinics, which all diagnosed him with adhd and offered him powerful drugs. but a comprehensive in person assessment by the nhs showed that he didn t actually have the condition. the clinics insist they do conduct thorough assessments and follow national guidelines. rory carson reports the number of adults asking for adhd assessments is soaring and nhs services have been overwhelmed. i needed help, that s why i called them.
Condition and can have a real impact on people s lives. but a lot of the symptoms are things people can experience, like you can forget things and become distracted, or you might act impulsively. but when it adds up, adhd can affect your life. but the nh but adds up, adhd can affect your life. but the nh but nhs adds up, adhd can affect your life. but the nh but nhs one went on for three hours, it was exhausting, and i spoke about things that happened in my life that i never spoke about before. i have a lot of trauma, my sister died when i was young. but those are all part of my psychiatric history, and he probed into them, then we went through various different adhd symptoms, and he was probing how often you say you forget things, how often does it happen and does it affect your relationships? what your colleagues at work say? and it was interrogating all that they are, just going on and on. i remember feeling like i needed to lie down after it. contrast that, they are 18
Symptoms associated with adhd, and at the end he said, that i have zero that meet the threshold. compare that meet the threshold. compare that with when i went private. they were all online, so i m sitting in the front room and it s quite a nerve racking experience because you talk about things that affect you. of the questions, most of them are of the questions, most of them are quite straightforward, do you forget things? are you bored? can you be impulsive? there were very few detailed follow up questions, and all three diagnosed me with adhd, and the longest one was just over an adhd, and the longest one was just overan hourand adhd, and the longest one was just over an hour and a half, compared with the nhs which was three hours and felt like a full mental health mot. ., ,. ., ., ~ ., and felt like a full mental health mot. ., .,~ ., mot. fascinating talking to rory carson there mot. fascinating talking to rory carson there about mot. fascinating talking to rory carson there
She was quite unhappy about the way in which the diagnosis happened, and the level of care. so that stuck in my mind, then i started speaking to more and more patients and staff who worked some at of these clinics, and that started this whole ball rolling. it s been six months and we spoke to an awful lot of people, but that was the thing, that e mail to the inbox that started this all off. fascinating, tell me more about going undercover. how long were those assessments we were just watching, how detailed were the questions? let watching, how detailed were the cuestions? watching, how detailed were the questions? questions? let me give you an examle questions? let me give you an example - questions? let me give you an example - when questions? let me give you an example - when i questions? let me give you an example - when i went - questions? let me give you an example - when i went for- questions? let me give you an example - when i went for the j questions? let me give you an
I spoke to rory carson earlier and asked him what provoked him to investigate the story. it asked him what provoked him to investigate the story. asked him what provoked him to investigate the story. it was maybe about a year investigate the story. it was maybe about a year ago investigate the story. it was maybe about a year ago when investigate the story. it was maybe about a year ago when i investigate the story. it was maybe about a year ago when i was - investigate the story. it was maybe about a year ago when i was on - investigate the story. it was maybe about a year ago when i was on a i about a year ago when i was on a long drive and was talking to a source who was working on a different film, and she was telling me all about the fact that she had been diagnosed privately with adhd. and i asked her, do you meet anyone you think might have a? and she said, maybe you, you have some of the symptoms. so i never thought i had adhd, and i don t, but it was something that
0k~ my assessor is psychologist 0lga pacholec. would you say that you got distracted.? she runs through a checklist of questions. would you say that you become distracted or even bored by things quite quickly? i can get bored by things. i know i don t have the condition because i have already had a rigorous, nhs assessment. but after 45 minutes, the psychologist tells me i have adhd. i think you fit the criteria for adhd very well. so what does that mean, then? you will have it in writing, officially, that you have been diagnosed. 0k~ there is no expiration date for this so you are diagnosed for life. 0k. harley psychiatrists told us numerous patients don t get diagnosed, but any suggestion they re misdiagnosing adults with adhd is untrue. and they said the clinic has seen patients at the harley street address.
Casey faced a three year wait so she paid almost £700 to a private clinic instead. she says harley psychiatrists diagnosed her after a 45 minute online assessment. did you ever get down here to actually see someone? no, no, i never came down here. this is the address that harley psychiatrists give on their website. hello. i m just looking for a harley psychiatrist, please. we don t have psychiatrists here in this building. there is none in this building whatsoever? no. we have been told harley psychiatrists diagnosed almost everyone with adhd. so i paid £685 for an assessment. after filling out a series of questionnaires, i have an online appointment. all right, well, let s get you assessed and see where we can go from there.