Questions to ask a Right to Choose provider

Eight questions, asked before the referral is sent, that separate providers on the things that will still matter in three years.

The short version

Ask whether the provider accepts referrals for someone of your age and history before the referral goes.
Ask whether it prescribes and whether it runs titration, since not all providers do.
Ask what happens after a diagnosis, including reviews.
Treat the advertised waiting time as the least reliable answer you will get.

Choosing a provider feels like choosing from a list of waiting times. Those numbers move, sit behind commissioner activity caps and differ by area. The questions below hold their value.

The eight questions

Do you accept Right to Choose referrals for someone of my age? Age ranges are provider-specific: ADHD 360 states it can only accept referrals for children aged 8 plus and adults 16 years and older, and Psychiatry-UK describes its scheme service as adults aged 18 and over.
Do you accept referrals for someone with my history? NHS South West London ICB warns that each provider sets its own inclusion and exclusion criteria, giving a moderate to severe learning disability or an addiction as examples.
Do you prescribe ADHD medication, or do you only assess? The same ICB states that not all Right to Choose providers can start medicine or prescribe it.
Do you run a titration service, and is there a wait between assessment and starting treatment? Psychiatry-UK states there will be a delay between assessment and starting treatment for patients referred to its titration service.
Do you offer annual reviews, and for how long have you been providing them?
How is the assessment delivered, online or remotely or in person? NHS South West London ICB tells patients to understand this before choosing.
Do you hold a contract with my integrated care board for this service, and are you currently within your activity plan for the financial year?
What happens if I am not diagnosed? Ask what the provider sends back to your GP either way.

One question for your GP practice, not the provider

Whether your practice would accept shared care from that provider if you are prescribed medication. NHS West and North London ICB advises confirming exactly that, and the answer belongs to the practice.

Asking it before the referral costs one conversation. Asking it after a diagnosis, when the answer turns out to be no, costs considerably more.

What to do with the answers

Write them down with the date you got them. Provider positions change inside a financial year, and a note saying what you were told and when is useful if the arrangement later turns out differently.

If a provider will not answer the prescribing or review questions in writing, treat that as an answer.

Questions people ask about this

What should I ask before choosing an ADHD provider?

Ask whether it accepts referrals at your age and with your history, whether it prescribes and titrates, whether it offers annual reviews, how the assessment is delivered, and what it sends back to your GP. Separately ask your GP practice whether it would accept shared care from that provider, which NHS West and North London ICB specifically advises confirming.

Can I ask a provider how long its Right to Choose wait is?

You can, and the major providers publish a wait-times page, which is the only current answer for that provider. Bear in mind that waits depend on the activity plan between that provider and your own commissioner, so a national figure from the provider may not describe your queue.