City needs diagnoses (From York Press)

City needs diagnoses

9:39am Thursday 16th August 2007

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A MENTAL health charity is stepping up its campaign to stamp out what it claims is a postcode lottery putting York residents at a disadvantage.

Bob Breen, founder and chairman of the Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) support group ADDept, said he believed there were hundreds of families in the city whose lives were being torn apart because the authorities in York could not give their child the diagnosis they needed.

He said up to 1,250 children in the city could be suffering from ADHD - even though they had not been diagnosed.

He said: "At Limetrees Child, Adolescent And Family Unit in York, they diagnose hyperkinetic disorder, but they don't diagnose ADHD. It's not acceptable.

"By missing this diagnosis, children with ADHD are not getting any explanation for why they are different, and this means they could be discriminated against.

"They won't have access to the appropriate medication and support. Most councils, including York, have strategies in the school system for dealing with children with ADHD, but you need the diagnosis first.

"Families have been ripped apart because of relatives pointing the finger and blaming each other for their child's behaviour."

Mr Breen is now urging families in York who have been fighting to get their child diagnosed with ADHD to fill in a questionnaire.

He said: "North Yorkshire County Council have asked ADDept to encourage people in York to fill in this questionnaire, which aims to assess the services that are available for people with attention difficulties. If you pay your taxes you have a right to get a reasonable service regardless of what part of the county you live in, and it is not fair that if you live in Harrogate there are paediatricians who can help, but it you live in York there are not.

"My son suffers from ADHD, but we had to go outside of York to St James's Hospital in Leeds to get the diagnosis. That was 11 years ago and still the situation hasn't changed.

"NICE guidelines say five per cent of children have ADHD, which means in York, where you have a school population of about 25,000, that's potentially 1,250 children with ADHD who haven't been diagnosed."

Nobody from North Yorkshire and York Primary Care Trust was available to comment about the services it provides.

For details about the questionnaires, phone Mr Breen on 01904 782556.

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