British savings giant offers staff free testing for ADHD
Disney and Phoenix Group have joined the growing list of companies offering to test workers for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) amid soaring NHS waiting lists.
Phoenix, the UK’s largest long-term savings and retirement business, is offering private assessments and diagnoses to employees and their dependents under the company’s healthcare plan.
The FTSE 100 insurer will also cover tests for other neurological conditions such as dyslexia and dyscalculia, which is where people have difficulty understanding numbers.
Phoenix employees and dependents over-16 need a GP referral to be tested, while those between six and 15 years old must be referred by a special educational needs coordinator.
Meanwhile, Disney offers all employees ADHD and autism assessments under its private healthcare service.
The entertainment giant also provides workers online access to nurses, speech and language therapists, and psychiatrists.
Businesses are under pressure to increase private healthcare benefits for workers with neural conditions amid concerns that NHS delays are leaving many without support.
The NHS backlog means that patients can be waiting up to 300 days for an official autism diagnosis, and as much as seven years for an ADHD diagnosis.
Magic circle law firms Clifford Chance, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, and Allen & Overy have all introduced workplace schemes which help lawyers with ADHD diagnostics and support.
Big four auditor PwC UK also provides testing for neurological conditions including dysgraphia, a disorder where people have difficulty reading and writing.
Last week, the NHS launched a national investigation into ADHD in response to concerns over soaring demand for assessments and national medicine shortages.
Experts have warned that NHS waiting times are forcing patients to seek treatment from rogue private health clinics, which have been accused of prescribing powerful drugs and overdiagnosing adults and children using unreliable online tests.
Amanda Pritchard, chief executive of the NHS, last week said: “We have recognised that more needs to be done to ensure people can get a timely diagnosis and importantly, that all of their needs are addressed.”
UK businesses continue to grapple with poor productivity and worker shortages amid record levels of sickness.
It piles pressure on the Government which is already forecasted to increase spending on health and disability payments 38pc to £90bn by 2029, according to the Office for Budget Responsibility.
Meanwhile, claims for child health and disability benefits related to ADHD have climbed 23pc to almost 64,000 over the past five years.
