The system is stretched. People can’t afford to wait.

There’s been a lot of discussion recently about the UK position on ADHD and autism assessment and whether sole practitioners should be CQC registered.

As a sole practitioner myself, I want to offer a perspective from the front line.

I’m a Registered Mental Health Nurse (RMN) with a strong background in mental health, risk assessment, and differential diagnosis. I’ve recently completed UKAAN training in ADHD assessment and diagnosis, and I’m planning to undertake further training in both adult and child ADHD and autism assessments. Alongside this, I’m accredited in CBT, IPT and an EMDR UK member, bringing a broader therapeutic lens to the work I do.

Earlier in my career, I worked as an ADHD specialist nurse within a neurodevelopmental team and over the past 10 years every person I have identified and recommended for ADHD or autism assessment has gone on to receive a diagnosis.

So I have to ask: what exactly is being questioned here?

Services are stretched beyond capacity. Waiting lists are years long. Meanwhile, I see individuals every week who are struggling: people at risk of losing jobs, children needing support in education, families searching for answers and relationships under strain, simply because they cannot access timely ADHD or autism assessments.

These are not abstract policy issues. These are real people in urgent need of clarity, validation, and support.

The recent clarification that diagnostic-only services do not require CQC registration has opened the door for experienced clinicians like myself to help meet that demand, and rightly so.

Because the real issue shouldn’t be who is registered. It should be: Are assessments thorough, evidence based, and clinically sound? Does the clinician have the expertise to safely differentiate between conditions? Are patients being treated ethically, safely, and with care?

Regulation matters, but so do clinical experience, ongoing training and professional accountability. This is, and should be, highly skilled clinical work requiring a strong foundation in mental health, neurodevelopmental conditions and differential diagnosis.

I stand by the work I do. I stand by my training, my background, and the outcomes I’ve consistently achieved for patients.

Most importantly, I stand by the people I see every day who simply cannot afford to wait.

We need to move this conversation away from restriction and toward access, quality, and patient need across both ADHD and autism pathways.

Because right now, the system isn’t meeting demand, and doing nothing isn’t a safer option.