Data submissions from February 2025 onwards
Data submissions from February 2025 onwards are not directly comparable to previous months due to new submissions from independent providers that have resulted in an increase in the number of open referrals.
4 December 2025 13:00 PM
Summary
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is defined by the World Health Organization as being characterised by a persistent pattern of inattention and/or hyperactivity-impulsivity that has a direct negative impact on academic, occupational, or social functioning, the level of which is outside the limits of normal variation expected for age and level of intellectual functioning. Historically there has been no specific data publicly available about people with ADHD. The ADHD data improvement plan highlighted the need to make use of and publish existing data held by NHS England in this area whilst also working to improve data quality.
In this initial publication data is available on the following areas: estimated prevalence of ADHD, the number of people who may be waiting for ADHD assessments, including how long they have been waiting.
A full list of measures currently contained in the publication is published in a data dictionary alongside each release.
OpenSAFELY
This publication contains additional analysis on ADHD diagnosis and care from 2016/17 to 2024/45 using data from GP practices accessed via OpenSAFELY. Please see the accompanying web pages in this publication for the full analysis, data tables can be found in the 'Resources' section below.
Key Facts
Estimated number of people with ADHD
In November 2025 it is estimated that 2,506,000 people in England have ADHD, including those without a diagnosis.
Referrals for an ADHD assessment
In September 2025, there were up to 700,123 people who may be waiting for an ADHD assessment.
New referrals for an ADHD assessment
In September 2025 up to 19,685 new referrals were received to mental health services for a possible ADHD assessment.
Resources
Last edited: 4 December 2025 1:13 pm