What I offer

Duration: 60 to 90 minutes

Location: online or in-person

Times available: morning, afternoon and evening - weekdays

Ideally Dr Roberts prefers a referral from your GP. She will also take referrals from other specialists, therapists and psychologists.

You may also self refer but Dr Roberts will request a patient summary care record from your GP. This is something you can request yourself before an appointment. – Alternatively her secretary can request this.

Having contact with your GP is important to ensure safety and continuity particularly if medication is being prescribed.

You may wish to provide Dr Roberts with background detail to your condition including a timeline of events relevant – she is very happy to read this in advance of your appointment.

The assessment

On the day of your assessment, Dr Roberts will spend approximately one hour talking with you and formulating a diagnosis and management plan.

You will always be seen on your own with no observers. No recording equipment or cameras are present.

A complete assessment is usually possible in one appointment but Dr Roberts will advise if a further appointment is necessary.

At the end of your assessment Dr Roberts will feedback to you her opinion. She will advise on any possible further investigations recommended.

She will advise a management plan including possible referral for therapy or prescription of medication.

If medication is recommended she will offer a private prescription or contact your GP for a prescription. She will provide medication information leaflet if requested.

Dr Roberts is happy to offer ongoing follow-up if requested including regular appointments to “check-in.”

Whilst Dr Roberts does not offer an emergency service, she is aware that on occasion urgent situations arise. In these cases she will try to facilitate an urgent appointment but cannot guarantee this.

After your appointment a comprehensive report will be sent both to yourself by secure email (or by post if requested) and to your GP.

Dr Roberts will always respect patient confidentiality and this is reflected in her report writing. On very rare occasions it may be necessary to inform your GP or others of risk issues such as safeguarding and if this is necessary she will ensure that you are aware that this is the case.

Duration: 30 minutes (60 minutes also available)

Location: online or in-person

Times available: morning, afternoon and evening - weekdays

Dr Roberts is happy to offer ongoing follow-up if requested including regular appointments to “check-in”. Routine follow-up appointment is 30 minutes (60 minute appointments can also be arranged.)

During a follow-up appointment Dr Roberts will discuss your progress and response to treatment plan including side effects of medication, titration of medication, suitability of therapy.

If you wish a friend or relative to attend an appointment with you either in person or online this can be accommodated.

Dr Roberts is able to facilitate separate appointments with family members or carers either in person, online or by phone to discuss best methods of support. This must always be with consent of the individual concerned and ideally with the individual present- Please enquire.

Duration: 2 hours

Location: online or in-person

Times available: morning, afternoon and evening - weekdays

Dr Roberts will provide a comprehensive assessment as follows:

Before the assessment, she will send to you a few assessment forms to complete. Although it sounds daunting to have lots of forms to complete, all the forms are quick and easy to follow. By completing them Dr Roberts can understand the main issues before you are seen. These assessments will include a description of your symptoms both in adulthood and as a child.

In addition, there will be assessments regarding the impact of your symptoms on your functioning as well as a questionnaire describing mood and anxiety symptoms. Where possible, there will be a questionnaire for an informant, (either a relative or friend) who has known you over the years and is able to give an account of how your symptoms may have affected you both as a child and an adult.

You will be sent a general health questionnaire in which your medical history will be required- this is particularly important when considering ADHD medication.

Ideally, these assessments will be returned to Dr Roberts clinic in advance of your assessment so she can read them before seeing you.

Where possible these assessments should be sent back by secure email.

Before coming to the ADHD assessment, you will be asked to obtain a GP printout summary as this will be important to ensure that you are medically fit if you are recommended to start ADHD medication. Dr Roberts will ask you to provide a blood pressure measurement as well as height and weight. She asks you that you have regular access to a blood pressure monitor which is validated. This is because ADHD medication can cause changes to blood pressure and requires monitoring.

Blood pressure machines can easily be purchased either through pharmacies or online:

Dr Roberts recommends these British Heart Foundation and amazon links.

On the day of your assessment, Dr Roberts will spend between 1 to 2 hours talking with you. This can either be on a face-to-face basis at her offices in Southampton or if you prefer by remote video consultation. During the assessment, Dr Roberts will ask you questions about your overall mental health as well as specific questions relating to ADHD symptoms. She will use the standardised diagnostic schedule for diagnosing ADHD which is known as the DIVA 5. (Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults).

Once the assessment is over, Dr Roberts will talk with you about her findings. A diagnosis is generally reached by the end of this assessment, but if there is any need for further assessments, you will be told this on the day.

Dr Roberts is keen for every patient to be offered a range of treatment options for their condition. If the diagnosis is of ADHD, she will go through with you the various treatment options. This will include possible psychological treatments such as Cognitive Behavioural Therapy, mindfulness, lifestyle changes, medication or a combination of these.

Once the assessment is completed, and provided all the medical checks are in place, Dr Roberts will provide an initial prescription for ADHD medication if that is what is requested. It is possible only to provide medication for up to 28 days at any one time as the medications that are used are controlled drugs and can only be given for this time. It is therefore important to have regular follow-up to monitor the effects of the medication and titrate up the dose to reach a satisfactory treatment dose that works for the individual.

Dr Roberts will then offer follow-up within three weeks to monitor the effective medication.

You can expect to receive your report, which outlines all the details above within 72 hours of your initial assessment. The report will be emailed to you unless specifically requested by post. A copy will be sent to your registered GP.

Follow-up outpatients will continue every three weeks as needed to reach a stable medication dose.

Once a satisfactory treatment plan is in place, Dr Roberts will put in place a shared care agreement with your GP. This will enable you to receive your prescriptions via your GP on the NHS.

For this reason, it is important for you to give Dr Roberts team details of your GP and ideally for you to contact your GP before an assessment to make sure that they are willing and able to prescribe the medication once it is initiated. Most GPs are happy to take part in these agreements, but a very few do not therefore it is wise to check first.

If at the assessment Dr Roberts makes a different diagnosis, she will of course make recommendations for a treatment plan for this. This may include different types of medication or a referral for psychological therapy.

Summary of what is required for an ADHD assessment

1) GP summary and confirmation that your GP will prescribe ADHD medication once diagnosis is made.

2) Access to validated Blood Pressure monitoring machine. Confirmed, height and weight and medical history.

3). Return all pre-assessment questionnaires in advance of the assessment.

4). Written consent and confirmation of details of medical history, which should be signed prior to receiving ADHD medication.

5) 1-2hr assessment with report sent within 72 hours.

Duration: 20 to 30 minutes

Location: online or in-person

Times available: morning, afternoon and evening - weekdays

After initial prescription you will need a follow up appointment with Dr Roberts to review the effect of medication, side effects and whether or not to titrate up the dose.

These follow up appointments continue every month until a suitable medication and dose is achieved. This normally takes 3-4 appointments.

During this time your prescriptions will be provided by Dr Roberts privately .

After stable dose reached Dr Roberts will communicate with your GP to request the GP continue prescribing the medication on the NHS.This is called a shared care protocol.

Most GPs are in agreement with shared care but please check with your Gp surgery before you start an assessment as occasionally practices will decline and this can cause problems accessing an NHS prescription ( it is worth noting that private prescription is considerably more expensive than the NHS prescription charge).

The shared care protocol enables your Gp to prescribe for you with the agreement that you are reviewed psychiatrically by Dr roberts on a 6-12 monthly basis.

In addition you will need to have 6 monthly review of BP and weight- this can take place at your Gp surgery or pharmacy.

For fees see here.

During your follow up appointments you may wish to discuss other treatment options with Dr Roberts such as therapy, life coaching. She can then refer you for these.

As part of an assessment or treatment plan, Dr Roberts is able to provide

1 Reports for DVLA

2 Supporting information for benefits including PIP

3 Supporting information to schools and universities requesting special considerations including extra time.

4 Occupational health reports

• All of these services require written consent. For fees please enquire with Dr Roberts secretary.