Wakefield's ADHD Clinic celebrates 1st birthday

Mary Creagh MP visited Wakefield's pioneering adult ADHD clinic on Portobello Road to see the support available to adults suffering with the disorder. The transitional adult clinic is one of the first in the country and has been open since April 2009.

For most sufferers of Attention Deficit Hyperactvity Disorder (ADHD) treatment stops when they reach 18 years old.  But after years of campaigning by local families, carers, the ADHD support group, health professionals and the Wakefield MP, adults in Wakefield can now get the support they need.

Mary met with specialist clinician Dr Marious Adamou, the Chair of South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Trust, ADHD steering group administrator Lorraine Forbes and service users. 

Dr Adamou said "ADHD does not disappear when you reach 16 or 17. Elsewhere you reach 18 years old, your medicines are stopped and you're on your own. This can lead to a number of problems - violence, difficulties studying, failed relationships. This place is a success story and it's all down to the community."

Lorraine Forbes said "We have spent years lobbying, working with the local mental health trust and the PCT to get this clinic and we're looking forward to the full service coming in."

Mary said "The Manygates clinic represents real progress for ADHD sufferers in Wakefield. Before there was nowhere for them to get help because of problems with diagnosis, and there was no clinic or expertise available. I am delighted the clinic is reaching its first birthday and I commend the work of the West Yorkshire ADHD support group, Dr Adamou and the NHS Trust. The treatment of adult ADHD is important across the country and I will be talking to Ministers in the Department of Health to make sure we continue to make progress in treating vulnerable adults."