Adults with ADHD are a forgotten and neglected community, especially in Galway, Mayo, and Roscommon, with no Department of Health funded services for those aged over 18 with ADHD.
The situation has led Fianna Fáil Galway West General Election candidate, Cllr John Connolly, to demand that the Department adequately fund the HSE to provide adult ADHD teams in each Community Healthcare Organisation (CHO ) in line with the National Clinician Programme for ADHD.
Cllr Connolly made his call via a motion he proposed at the recent Regional Health Forum West meeting, which was supported by all members.
“This lack of services, and the lack of recognition that ADHD is a life-long neurodivergent condition, is disgraceful,” said Cllr Connolly. “ADHD is a lifelong condition. It impacts across a person’s life from daily tasks to relationships to work.”
While children and teens can seek ADHD assessments and services via the Child and Adult Mental Health Services (CAMHS ), no equivalent, State-funded, services exist in the west of Ireland for adults. Instead, services must be accessed privately, with the high expense of such services being prohibitive for many.
Cllr Connolly believes funding for services for adults with ADHD will not be a drain on Department of Health and HSE resources, but will instead be an investment that will have wider positive effects.
“Neurodivergent people are often highly creative thinkers who can bring different and fresh perspectives to business, technology, education, and the arts,” said Cllr Connolly. “We need to support adults with ADHD to help them thrive in life, as their success will be to the wider society’s benefit as well.”
In other parts of the State, adult ADHD services via the National Clinical Programme ensure a holistic, integrated, person-centred response, with assessment and treatment, and collaboration with voluntary agencies.
Cllr Connolly has already been vocal about enhancing CAMHS services regarding ADHD care for children, and he has called for the development of an ADHD specialist clinic at CAMHS services in Galway.
“The HSE’s own website notes that ‘access to appropriate intervention and treatment has been shown to significantly improve outcomes for adults with ADHD,” he said. “The HSE can no longer deny adults in the west of Ireland access to such vital services.”
