Figures show 2.5m people in England may have ADHD

Campaigners have criticised the NHS's "abject failure" to resource and manage ADHD as it emerged that as many as 2.5 million people in England could have the condition, with more than one in five of these currently waiting for an assessment.

- Tobi Thomas

The first figures of their kind published by the NHS, which were produced using estimates from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (Nice), suggest 3-4% of adults and 5% of children and young people in the country have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There are 549,000 people in England awaiting an ADHD assessment, according to the figures; 144,000 of these have been waiting for about two years.

It is the first time an estimate has been made publicly available of how common the condition may be among the population.