Is NHS Right to Choose paused or still available in your area?

The legal right to choose a qualifying NHS provider still applies right across England. What has changed is that since 2025 some integrated care boards have restricted or paused new adult ADHD Right to Choose referrals in their area, because demand has outrun the funding to meet it. So the right exists everywhere, but whether a referral is being accepted and funded depends on your local integrated care board and the provider you choose. The reliable move is to check before your GP refers.

As of 1 July 2026. This position changes quickly, so treat the method below as the source of truth, not any fixed list.

Why some areas have paused it

Adult ADHD referrals through Right to Choose rose sharply from 2023 onward. Because a Right to Choose referral is funded by your local integrated care board, that rise landed as a real and rising cost on board budgets. Several boards responded by capping or pausing new ADHD referrals while they reviewed commissioning, in some cases into 2026. This is a local funding and commissioning decision, not a change to the underlying legal right, which is why a provider can be open to one area and closed to another.

How to check if it is available for you, right now

  1. Pick a qualifying provider. Start from our provider list, which covers NHS-contracted Right to Choose clinics.
  2. Ask the provider before anything else. Contact them and ask, in plain terms, whether they are currently accepting new Right to Choose referrals for patients funded by your integrated care board. A provider can be open in one area and closed in another, so their answer for your area is what matters.
  3. Then ask your GP to refer. Only once the provider confirms they are open to your area do you take the referral request to your GP, using our GP letter template. Checking first saves weeks lost on a referral that would only be bounced.

If you are unsure which board you fall under, your GP practice can tell you, and the provider can confirm whether that board is one they currently accept.

If it is paused where you are

You still have routes, and it is worth checking all three:

Back to the full Right to Choose guide
AP

Adam Parker

Editor, ADHD Helper

Adam leads ADHD Helper's editorial coverage of adult ADHD, and he writes it from lived experience: Adam has ADHD himself, diagnosed as an adult, and has been through the assessment routes and the daily workarounds this site covers. He is the founder and managing director of Muswell Rose and researches the plain-English explainers on getting an ADHD assessment through NHS Right to Choose or privately, and on the products and tools people use to manage ADHD, drawing on guidance from the NHS, NICE and the Royal College of Psychiatrists. He is clear that the site is information, not medical advice, and that diagnosis is for a registered clinician.

Last reviewed: 1 July 2026

Right to Choose availability FAQ

Has NHS Right to Choose been paused for ADHD assessments?

Not nationally. The legal right to choose a qualifying NHS provider still applies across England. What has changed is that since 2025 some integrated care boards have restricted or paused new adult ADHD Right to Choose referrals in their area, usually because of the surge in demand and the cost of meeting it. So the right exists everywhere, but whether a referral is being funded and accepted depends on your local integrated care board and the provider you choose. Always check the current position before your GP refers.

How do I find out if Right to Choose is available where I live?

Do it in this order. First, pick a qualifying NHS-contracted provider. Second, contact that provider directly and ask if they are currently accepting new Right to Choose referrals for patients whose care is funded by your integrated care board, because a provider can be open in one area and closed in another. Third, only once they confirm, ask your GP to make the referral. Checking with the provider first saves weeks of waiting on a referral that would be bounced.

Why does ADHD Helper not publish a list of which areas have paused Right to Choose?

Because it would mislead more people than it helped. The position changes week to week as integrated care boards open, cap and reopen referrals, so any fixed list would be out of date almost immediately, and acting on a stale list in a health decision is worse than having no list. Instead we show you how to confirm the current position for your own area directly with the provider and your integrated care board, which is always accurate on the day you check.

What can I do if Right to Choose is paused in my area?

You have three routes. You can join the NHS waiting list through your GP in the normal way and see the current waits on our waiting times tracker. You can check other qualifying Right to Choose providers, because one may still be accepting referrals for your area even if another is not. Or you can consider a private assessment, which our cost comparison sets out against the NHS and Right to Choose routes. None of these is advice about what you should do; they are the options available.