How to ask your GP for a Right to Choose referral

Come with impairment, not with the law. The pathway is rarely the sticking point; whether an assessment is clinically appropriate for you is.

The short version

The appointment is about whether an assessment is appropriate, not about whether the pathway exists.
Evidence of impairment across more than one setting carries more weight than a description of a bad week.
Name a provider and say why you chose it, including what it offers after a diagnosis.
Only a GP can make this referral, so a provider's online form does not replace the appointment.

People rehearse the wrong argument for this appointment. They arrive prepared to prove that Right to Choose is real, and the GP already knows that. The decision in front of your GP is whether referring you for an ADHD assessment is clinically appropriate, and that is what the ten minutes should be spent on.

Say the thing that is hard, not the diagnosis

NICE guideline NG87 describes diagnosis as resting on a full clinical and psychosocial assessment of the person, including discussion about behaviour and symptoms in the different domains and settings of the person's everyday life, and on a full developmental and psychiatric history and observer reports and assessment of the person's mental state. That is the shape of the evidence an assessing clinician will eventually work from, and it is the shape of what is most useful to bring now.

So describe function rather than symptoms in the abstract. What has gone wrong at work or at school, what it has cost, how long it has been happening, whether the same pattern shows up at home, and what you have already tried. Old school reports, work reviews and letters from previous services all do more than a self-scored questionnaire.

Bring the provider decision with you

NHS South West London ICB describes the GP's part as having a list of providers available to refer to, which will include private providers paid for by the NHS, and then helping you choose. It flags what to understand before choosing: how each provider would carry out the assessment, online or remotely or in person, and whether they would provide ongoing support or medication should you or your child be diagnosed.

Turning up with that already worked out shortens the appointment and improves the decision. Say which provider, whether it accepts people of your age, whether it prescribes, and what it does after a diagnosis.

What not to do

Do not present a completed provider form as though it were the referral. It is paperwork for your GP, and only a GP can make this type of referral.
Do not lead with an entitlement argument. It puts the conversation on ground where the answer is already yes and leaves the real question unaddressed.
Do not bring a printout of a national waiting-time figure. There are no national reports on waiting times for adults, and the conversation about your own wait belongs with the provider and the integrated care board.
Do not assume one appointment settles it. Practices differ, clinicians differ, and a second opinion within the practice is a normal thing to ask for.

Ask about the local position while you are there

Practices know when a local pathway changes before patients do. Ask whether the practice is currently making Right to Choose referrals for ADHD, whether the integrated care board has issued a position, and whether there is any local support offer for people waiting.

If the answer is that the practice has been asked not to refer, that is a commissioning position rather than a judgement about you, and knowing which it is changes what you do next.

Questions people ask about this

What should I bring to a GP appointment about ADHD?

Bring evidence of impairment across more than one setting, with dates: school reports, work reviews, letters from previous services. Bring the name of the provider you want and the reason, including whether it prescribes and what it offers after a diagnosis. NICE NG87 expects an assessment to cover behaviour and symptoms across the different settings of everyday life, and to take a full developmental and psychiatric history and observer reports and assessment of the person's mental state, so that is the material that carries weight.

Can I take a provider's referral form to my GP?

Yes, and it can help, but it is not a referral. NHS West and North London ICB states that only a GP can make this type of referral. A completed provider pack prepares the paperwork; the clinical decision and the referral itself still sit with your GP.