Streeting launches review into mental health and ADHD diagnoses

Published: 04 December 2025. The English Chronicle Desk. The English Chronicle Online

Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced an independent review into the rising demand for mental health, ADHD, and autism services in England. The review will examine whether there is evidence of over-diagnosis, as well as identify gaps in support for patients.

The government has highlighted its ongoing investments to expand services, but long waiting times for therapy persist across many areas. NHS data show that rates of mental health conditions and ADHD have increased significantly over the past two decades. Streeting has previously cautioned that some conditions may be over-diagnosed and warned that too many people are being “written off.”

Announcing the review, Streeting said, “We must look at this through a strictly clinical lens to get an evidence-based understanding. That’s the only way we can ensure everyone gets timely access to accurate diagnosis and effective support.”

The review is separate from ongoing welfare reforms, though ministers are seeking to tackle the growing welfare bill. While some benefits require proof of how a health condition affects work, a formal diagnosis is not always necessary. Earlier this year, the government reversed planned cuts to disability benefits after facing opposition from Labour backbenchers.

The review aims to balance ensuring timely, appropriate access to mental health services while addressing potential over-diagnosis, reflecting broader concerns about health, welfare, and social policy in England.

Related News:

Mother dies after black market weight loss injection Young Woman Missed 13 Times by GPs Before Bowel Cancer Diagnosis Hospice Cuts Raise Alarm Across England Amid Funding Crisis How Bringing Forests Into Preschools Boosts Children’s Health The diet that can significantly ease symptoms of IBS Celebrities and Charities Demand UK Government Act on Child Poverty Long A&E waits causing heartbreaking suffering, charity says Experts Warn on Home Birth Risks, Call for Skilled Midwives Lancashire council plans to close care homes and day centres Britain could face worst flu season on record, NHS warns Experts Urge Legal Right to Timely Cancer Care Patients to Test Health at Home to Ease NHS Winter Pressure London’s Childlessness Crisis: Schools Closing as Families Shrink NHS Takes Over Nuffield Hospital in ‘Windfall’ for London Care North Sea oil workers must lose weight or face job loss Crisis charity to become landlord amid UK housing emergency No link found between paracetamol in pregnancy and autism UK Disability Pay Gap Means Millions Work for Free From Today Shouting Works Best to Deter Gulls, UK Study Finds Reeves rejects £1bn plea for NHS redundancy payouts NHS trust fined after woman takes life in mental health unit Leading doctors issue warning amid ‘bad’ flu season UK Centres Used Risky Heart Pump Despite Safety Fears Reeves Rejects £1bn NHS Payout Plea from Streeting New Campaign Trains Vets to Spot Farmers’ Health Risks Stroke Patient Mistaken for Drunk, Care Delayed ‘Traumatic Wait’: Northern Ireland Women Face Breast Cancer Delays Boris Johnson Oversaw Toxic No 10 Culture, Covid Inquiry Finds Welsh Government Christmas 2020 Lockdown Criticised Coffins Now Too Large to Cremate Amid Rising Obesity Crisis Thinktank Urges Smaller Hospitals to End NHS ‘Permacrisis’ David Cameron Reveals Prostate Cancer Diagnosis, Advocates Screening NHS paediatric leave parents waiting months for answers Catherine urges end to stigma around addiction 11 Best Supermarket Wines Chosen by Experts and Sommeliers Inquiry Opens Into Disgraced Surgeon Eljamel Scandal Five-Year-Old Dies After Rare Tonsil Surgery Complication Fibromyalgia Patients Struggle as NHS Fails to Provide Care More Patients Now Contacting GPs Online, Data Shows Flu cases in Scotland more than double in a week Concerns Mount Over Accuracy of At-Home Health Tests as Study Calls for Stricter Regulation The Ketamine Crisis in the UK is a Silent Epidemic Leaving Users with Lifelong Pain Why E-Bikes and E-Scooters Are Making Streets a ‘Nightmare’ for Blind People Millions in the UK at Higher Risk of Heart Failure and Stroke Due to Air Pollution, Study Warns Systemic Racism in Maternity Care Continues to Endanger Black Women in England, MPs Warn One in Three GPs in England Do Not Work in NHS, Raising Concerns Over Access to Care Questions Remain as Rugby Legend Lewis Moody Faces Motor Neurone Disease Diagnosis M&S and Morrisons Lead Christmas Supermarket Taste Test New Prostate Cancer Drug Set to Halve Death Risk in England Peterborough Mosques Tighten Security After Attack Reeves Faces Setback as Labour May Miss Homes Target Kate Winslet to Narrate Film Highlighting King’s Environmental Mission Trump’s UK Ambassador Urges North Sea Drilling to Strengthen US Ties French Taxi Driver Cleared in David Lammy Theft Case After Fare Dispute UK Bans Fake Numbers: Scammers Lose Their Trick M&S Profits More Than Halve After Cyber-Attack Kent village told to remove flags before Christmas lights go up Palace May Restore Hyphen to Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor’s Name Millionaires group urge Reeves to introduce wealth tax to ‘lift kids out of poverty’ Northern Lights may illuminate UK skies this week PM Condemns Leaks, Vows Loyalty to Ministers and Stability Major Rent Reform Ends No-Fault Evictions in England Senator John Fetterman Hospitalized After Fall from Heart Flare-Up, Keeps Sense of Humor New AI tool could cut wasted efforts in organ transplants Criminal Gangs Pose as Truckers to Hijack UK Supply Chains Van Dwellers Face Eviction After Park Misuse Sparks Outcry Serial Rapist and Former Cop Found Guilty Again Scottish Families Take Legal Action Over School CO Leak Royal Navy Shadows Russian Warships Entering the Channel Inside the Helpline Protecting Missing Children in the UK Most Tories Expect to Support a Farage-Led Government Boots Showstopper Beauty Bundle Outshines Many Advent Calendars This Holiday Season Labour’s ‘blinkered’ drive to build risks pushing wildlife to point of no return, nature experts warn PlayStation PS5 Deals Hit Lowest Prices Ahead of Black Friday Karen Carney Stuns on Blackpool Week, Deserves Strictly Final Starmer Says Labour’s Economic Plan Needs Years to Deliver Virgin Media Fined £23.8m Over Telecare Safety Failures Kenya Signs $2.5bn Health Deal with US Amid Data Concerns Culture secretary to review Telegraph takeover by Daily Mail owner Prince George Helps Father at London Homelessness Charity