Evaluation of an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder service: a questionnaire survey and audit

Aims Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is being increasingly diagnosed and there is a general perception that service provision in many areas has not kept up with the increased demand. The service in our region, catering to a large population, comprises of a community paediatrician, ADHD nurse and a medical officer. The National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) has recently issued guidelines for the diagnosis and management of ADHD, which was available as a prepublication draught at the time of this study. The authors aimed to: ▸ Assess knowledge of parents of children with ADHD about some key issues in the management. ▸ Measure parental satisfaction with the service ▸ Audit our practice against some of the key recommendations provided in the prepublication draught of the ADHD guidelines issued by NICE Methods All parents of children who attended the ADHD clinics during a period of one month were given a printed questionnaire. They were requested to complete and return them on the same day. The data were then analysed. Results Four ADHD clinics were conducted in the month of the survey. There were a total of 51 patients. All the parents returned the questionnaires. 100% of the parents agreed that non-pharmacologic options were discussed before starting medications, as recommended by NICE. Most of them were also aware of the common side-effects. 84% revealed that they were advised regarding resources like internet and books, as recommended by NICE. Though 97% of the parents had informed schools about the diagnosis, only 65% were happy with the way the schools were dealing with their children. Overall, 97% of the parents felt that the ADHD clinics were useful. Conclusions Our ADHD service is compliant with some major aspects of the NICE guidelines. In spite of limited resources, the service is well organised and satisfactory to most parents.