About
Are you suffering from Adult ADHD or wonder if you may be? Many people feel hesitant or nervous about seeing a psychiatrist, but don’t let this prevent you from getting the care and treatment that you need. I’m happy to put you at ease and discuss any concerns you have.
What does an ADHD assessment involve?
The assessment process really begins with a review of the information you provide us in our pre-assessment questionnaires. When I meet you, the assessment will take approximately 2 hours and will include a general psychiatry assessment (this is particularly important as ADHD commonly occurs alongside other mental health disorder such as anxiety, OCD, bipolar disorder) and enables me to tailor your assessment and potential subsequent treatment to take account of comorbid disorders. Comorbid disorders are commonly the rule for many people, rather than the exception. For part of the review, I will ask that someone who has ideally known you as a child be present to assist with assessing symptoms in childhood, such as a parent. Sometimes this is understandably not possible, and then ideally someone who knows you well as an adult, such as a partner or good friend, is ideal. Sometimes it is not possible to obtain collateral history from another person, and I’m happy to discuss this in advance if this becomes the case.
At the end of the review, I’ll advise on diagnosis and helpful next practical steps for you to take to begin to improve your life. You’ll receive a detailed letter soon after summarising this and a copy will go to your GP. Whilst for most people, ECGs are not required prior to beginning ADHD treatment, if I advise this, this can be at the Wellbeing clinic, for convenience; alternatively, your GP may be happy to do so. My experience is that people with ADHD are highly motivated to begin improvements in their life quickly. Understanding ADHD is important and I provide important information regarding this and helpful other steps to assist. In addition, medication has the evidence for most effectiveness in ADHD and I can titrate this and share care with GPs (providing they are in agreement) and an initial medication appointment can be quickly booked afterwards for 30mins. It takes approximately 3-6 months to titrate medication to a stable dose, depending on factors such as how well you get on with the medication or need to trial different types as well as taking co-morbid conditions into account.
My medical training
I qualified in 2007 from the University of Nottingham and began 6 years of psychiatry training after a further 2 years on an academic foundation scheme, which included a range of non-psychiatric posts, such as A&E, cardiology, GP etc. This means that I have a broad base of knowledge to help you and can help you and your GP if you need further specialist advice. My psychiatry training was in the East Midlands, in Nottingham and Derby and was in a wide range of posts including CAMHS (children’s mental health), older adults, substance misuse services before I specialised in General Adult Psychiatry, which is psychiatry for adults of working age.
At an early stage in my training, as a junior doctor, I was fortunate to be nominated and shortlisted for a national award, for best core psychiatric trainee, at the Royal College of Psychiatrists. I’ve received training in a range of psychological therapies as well as advanced psychopharmacology as well as in psychiatric research. I was a clinical lecturer/assistant professor at the University of Nottingham for 3 years in my later stages of training as a senior registrar and in addition to research, I lectured extensively to medical undergraduates on a wide range of psychiatric topics.
In addition to my private practice, I work in the NHS and have been a consultant psychiatrist since 2015. I have extensive experience of treating a variety of complex and severe conditions in settings, from in-patient to community settings. Currently, I’m fortunate to be able to help people with acute mental health emergencies as an NHS Crisis Team consultant in Nottingham. I also serve people with ADHD as a consultant in the Nottingham NHS neurodevelopmental service, NeSS. As a consultant I’m responsible for training junior doctors and medical students.
I’ve also previously been an honorary assistant professor (clinical) at the University of Nottingham. All of this means that I’m passionate about helping people and bring a wide variety and depth of knowledge and experience to help people who really need it.
To ensure high standards, I participate in annual appraisal and meet the annual requirements of the Royal College of Psychiatrists CPD (continuing professional development). I undertake training where this is helpful to my practice; for example, I participated in the training by UKAAN (UK Adult ADHD Network) on Diagnosis and Pharmacological Treatment of Adults with ADHD. I stay up to date on important professional areas such as safeguarding requirements, for example. Most recently, I’ve attended the UKAAN 2024 Adult ADHD conference in London.
- All medications have potential side-effects and I can advise you on suitable choices, with a plan for changing doses or when to look at alternatives. I firmly believe in the importance of taking care in beginning and stopping medications, and can advise you on a process known as titration of medication.
- As part of my holistic approach I believe a careful assessment of sleep patterns, nutrition, exercise and stress are essential, and I can then give advice on how to improve things.
When discussing private matters, particularly personal issues, its understandable to have worries about data security. Please be assured that as a GMC registered consultant and member of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, that I take your data security very seriously.
Your medical records are confidential and are securely stored on an encrypted IT software platform, called Carebit.co. Communications with you are securely encrypted.
Finally, I store your records securely and have a duty as a data controller to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) to do this responsibly, as part of the UK GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation).
In my spare time
I love spending time with my family and our family dog, Suzie, who I’ve enjoyed training for a great dog sport called IGP (although mostly, she’s trained me!) If there’s any time left over, I love cycling, weightlifting and walking.
