- FoI Number
- 2024-038
- Subject
- ADHD and Autism
- Date Received
- 17/04/2024
- Request and Response
-
Please could I have the following information for 2019/20, 2020/21, 2021/22, 2022/23, 2023/24 - broken down by year?
Please note adult Mental Health did not start the ADHD assessments till 2021.
- How many referrals have been made by GPs for assessments for ADHD for
- children
Under FOISA s 12(1), NHS Shetland is not obliged to comply with a request if the estimated cost of doing so exceeds £600. Having reviewed your request, NHS Shetland has determined that the cost of compliance would exceed £600 and so is unable to provide the information requested; we have provided a breakdown of the estimated costs below:
To answer would require manually reviewing every paediatric referral received over this time period. There are 1520 relevant paediatric referrals and we estimate the above process to take an average of 4 minutes per referral. This would therefore take 1520 x 4 = 6080 minutes or in hours 101.33
Staff costs are capped at £15.00 per hour so the cost of responding to this would be 15 x 101.33 - £1519.95 therefore exceeding £600
- adults
Month
2021
2022
2023
January
<5
0
6
Feb
0
<5
13
March
0
<5
12
April
<5
<5
11
May
<5
9
11
June
<5
<5
24
July
<5
5
19
August
<5
10
12
Sept
<5
9
17
Oct
<5
9
16
Nov
<5
13
17
Dec
5
10
10
Where we have given <5 responses, this is because NHS Shetland considers that providing more specific information carries a high risk of identifying individuals. As such and in accordance with FOISA s 16(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it holds the information requested but that it is exempt from disclosure under FOISA s 38(1)(b) as read with s 38 (2A) as the information constitutes personal data and disclosure would breach the confidentiality of the data subjects.
- How many referrals have been made by GPs for assessments for autism for
- children
- adults
I understand that the board may not specify the neurodevelopmental conditions which referrals have been made in relation to. In this case, could you please provide the total number of referrals from GPs for all neurodevelopmental assessments in general in a) children and b) adults across these years?
In accordance with FOISA s 17(1), NHS Shetland confirms that it does not hold the information requested. Referrals come from a variety of sources, NHS Shetland do not record numbers from different referral sources.
- How long is the waiting time in weeks for an ADHD assessment for
- children
2019/20 – no waiting list
2020/21 – no waiting list
2021/22 – commenced waiting lists during this time, average waiting time data cannot be given accurately due to the change.
- adults
2021 – shortest wait = 2 weeks, longest wait = 52 weeks
2022 – shortest wait = 2 weeks longest wait = 52 weeks
2023 – shortest wait = 7 weeks, longest wait = 37 weeks
Please note individuals are prioritised depending on the urgency of the referral. Also individuals often do not attend numerous appointments and therefore result in a long wait.
- How long is the waiting time in weeks for an autism assessment for
- children
2019/20 – no waiting list
2020/21 – no waiting list
2021/22 – commenced waiting lists during this time, average waiting time data cannot be given accurately due to the change.
2022/23 – Those assessed in this time waited on average 12 months for the assessment to commence.
2023/24 – Those assessed in this time waited on average 15 months for the assessment to commence.
- Adults
2019/20 – adult autism pathway not established
2020/21 – adult autism pathway not established
2021/22 – adult autism pathway not established
2022/23 – those assessed in this time waited on average 18 months
2023/24 – those assessed in this time waited on average 17 months
I understand that the board may not specify the neurodevelopmental conditions which referrals have been made in relation to. In this case, could you please provide the average wait for neurodevelopmental assessments in general in a) children and b) adults across these years?
- How many referrals have been made by GPs for assessments for ADHD for
