THE Royal Australian College of GPs is urging the New South Wales Government to prioritise reforms to improve access to support and treatment for people with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) from GPs after the mass resignation of psychiatrists.
Around 200 psychiatrists in NSW's public health system have submitted their resignations amid an ongoing pay dispute with the state government, and plan to leave their positions next week.
RACGP NSW Chair Dr Rebekah Hoffman said: "GPs should be able to initiate and prescribe medications for people living with ADHD, and manage their care.
"Allowing GPs to give more support to people living with ADHD will improve health and wellbeing for patients, cut wait times and costs, and ease pressure on the health system."
Dr Hoffman observed that psychiatrists have raised safety concerns due to the state's understaffed workforce, and allowing GPs a greater role in ADHD care will not only help their patients but also ease pressure on their psychiatrist colleagues.
"The RACGP is calling for a nationally consistent approach for ADHD prescribing that helps adults and children with ADHD access appropriate and early support from their GP, including reducing regulatory barriers for prescribing stimulant medications.
"In NSW, GPs have to apply for approval in order to be able to prescribe stimulant medications, and they can only do it if they're working in rural or remote communities, or if they're practising predominantly in paediatrics," Dr Hoffman said.
In its response to the National ADHD Inquiry last year, the federal government gave in-principle support for adults and children with ADHD to access appropriate and early support from their GP and reduced regulatory barriers for prescribing stimulant medications (PD 16 Dec 2024).
"Enabling GPs across Australia to better support people living with ADHD will increase access to assessment and treatment, improve the health and wellbeing of patients, as well as reduce wait times and costs, and ease pressure elsewhere in the health system," RACGP President, Dr Michael Wright, said in a statement welcoming the government response to the inquiry.
"With new ADHD clinical guidelines from the Australasian ADHD Professionals Association, GPs have a comprehensive, evidence-based resource to assist diagnosis and management of ADHD - we can help improve access and reduce costs for patients and ease our stretched health system," he added. KB
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