NHS accused of ‘abject failure’ on ADHD as 550,000 await assessment in England

Campaigners say failings have ruined lives' after figures show up to 2.5m people in country could have condition

ADHD campaigners have accused the NHS of presiding over a widely failing system" as it emerged that as many as 2.5 million people in England could have the condition, with more than half a million people waiting for an assessment.

According to the first figures of their kind published by the health service, 3-4% of adults, and 5% of children and young people, in the country have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.