Dr. Sonia Morris:

Across child and adult services, gatekeeping is a issue in accessing ADHD services. Mr. Kilbride mentioned the new adult ADHD network. Those new ADHD clinics have new established teams. Gatekeeping to adult mental health services is through the GP, and then through an adult mental health team to reach the ADHD team. People need to jump through a lot of hoops before they get to the team that can provide a diagnosis. It is not just about raising awareness. It is about looking at the system in place, and how people access that system. The Senator is correct to state that there is a self-referral process for many clinicians in the private system. For many of the psychiatrists, there is also gatekeeping through the GP. A GP referral is required to access a private assessment. Some work needs to be done with the GP community to look at their impressions of ADHD and the referral process. They also need support in accessing services for their patients. That is an issue. Some GPs might discourage somebody from going forward with an ADHD diagnosis because the path is either expensive, non-existent, or very lengthy.