If you live in Liverpool and want an NHS adult ADHD assessment, the bar for referral is now higher. Fewer assessments are also being funded. Liverpool is covered by NHS Cheshire and Merseyside Integrated Care Board (ICB). Its adult ADHD service is run by Cheshire and Wirral Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (CWP). When we checked, CWP said the service was temporarily closed to most referrals. Since 23 December 2025, an ICB policy has set a threshold. Assessment should only be offered if symptoms cause significant difficulty in at least two areas of life. In 2026–27 the ICB is buying fewer adult assessments than the year before. Right to Choose still exists, but waits may be longer. After a private diagnosis, the ICB says NHS shared care is "very unlikely".
NHS Cheshire and Merseyside ICB plans and pays for NHS services across Cheshire and Merseyside, including Liverpool. ICB records list CWP as the provider of adult ADHD assessment and diagnosis in Liverpool. CWP runs a dedicated Liverpool adult ADHD service. Children are assessed separately, by Alder Hey Children's Hospital.
The ICB also contracts several other NHS and independent providers for adult ADHD across its area. And under Right to Choose, your GP can refer you to a provider with an NHS contract elsewhere in England.
CWP's service is for adults aged 18 and over, usually referred by a GP or another health professional. When we checked on 1 November 2026, CWP said its adult ADHD service was "currently temporarily closed to referrals", with some exceptions. These include:
For everyone else, CWP says: "people can exercise their 'right to choose' by contacting their GP Practice for support." It also lists a pre-assessment support service for Liverpool residents.
CWP has published monthly waiting data for its Liverpool service for 2024:
273 weeks is a little over five years. CWP doesn't say exactly how the average is measured. An earlier ICB response gave 572 adults waiting in Liverpool at the end of March 2023. The average wait then was 204 weeks, and the longest 390 weeks.
From 23 December 2025, all new adult referrals fall under an ICB commissioning policy. A diagnostic assessment is only offered if both are true:
The policy says formal assessment referrals should only be made where your needs can't be met without a diagnosis. One example it gives is needing medication that requires a diagnosis. Urgent cases are always treated.
The policy says the first diagnostic appointment should be face to face, within 60 minutes' travel of your home. A face-to-face physical health review is required before starting medication. The ICB says your referrer will take this policy into account when deciding which provider is clinically appropriate.
The ICB's spending on ADHD services rose from £11 million in 2023–24 to £38 million in 2025–26. It says this would reach about £51 million in 2026–27 without action. So it reduced the assessments it bought from December 2025 to March 2026. In 2026–27 it is buying fewer adult assessments than in 2025–26. If you're already referred, you stay on the list, but you may wait longer.
Titration, the process of finding the right medication dose, is being kept at 2025–26 levels. The ICB expects waits for titration to start falling.
The ICB is phasing in an adult ADHD service in primary care, starting from October–December 2025. Some GPs are getting extra ADHD training so they can carry out assessments. The aim is to free specialist services for the most complex cases.
In England, you have a legal right in most cases to choose the mental health provider and team for your first appointment. It applies at the point of referral, and only to providers with an NHS contract for that service. Your GP must agree a referral is clinically appropriate. For more, see our guide to NHS Right to Choose and shared care.
Locally, three things are worth knowing:
For the national picture, see adult ADHD in the UK: what the wait actually looks like.
Healthwatch Liverpool published an ADHD report on 4 March 2026. It was based on a self-selecting survey with 601 responses, so it isn't a representative sample. Among respondents:
ADHD medicine is started by a specialist. NICE says that once your dose is stable, prescribing can move to your GP under shared care. Cheshire and Merseyside ICB is clear that a diagnosis alone doesn't mean your GP must prescribe. Your GP must be confident about the clinical information, specialist support and monitoring. A refusal is not a judgement on whether your diagnosis is valid.
The ICB also says GP practices are increasingly declining shared care with independent providers.
Private assessment is usually faster, but the ICB's position on what follows is unusually firm:
So before paying, ask whether the provider will prescribe for the long term, and what that costs.
If you are struggling right now: call 111 and choose the mental health option. You can call Samaritans free on 116 123, any time. If someone's life is at risk, call 999 or go to A&E.
No. Your GP or another referring clinician must refer you, and must judge it clinically appropriate under the ICB policy.
The policy excludes people who have previously been diagnosed with ADHD. It covers adults with suspected ADHD.
The ICB says it can't look into individual cases on waiting time alone. If your symptoms change or worsen, contact your GP or the clinician who referred you.
The ICB says this is very unlikely in Cheshire and Merseyside. Ask your GP directly before you pay.
Proco is preparing a clinician-led adult ADHD assessment service. It is not open yet; you can read about our assessments.
This page is general information, not medical advice. It cannot assess your situation. If you're concerned about ADHD, speak to your GP.
Reviewed by: Proco Team
Last updated: November 2026