This photograph shows the medication methylphenidate, marketed under the brand name Ritaline, used for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in Terville, northeastern France, on March 27, 2026. Jean-Christophe Verhaegen/AFP via Getty Images
A general practitioner says her ability to personally diagnose and treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) will be life-changing for some of her patients.
Almost 300 GPs in New South Wales (NSW) have completed training allowing them to diagnose attention ADHD, previously requiring a specialist.
Many patients faced long wait-times and high fees which delayed treatment, especially children.
GPs in the state last year began being able to prescribe continuing medicines to people with the condition as part of a broader plan to make treatment more accessible.
It mirrors a move Queensland made in 2017, with Western Australia set to follow suit.
Dr. Rebekah Hoffman, the NSW and ACT (Australian Capital Territory) chair of the Royal Australian College of General Practice, is one of the newly-trained GPs.
She said current barriers to diagnosis were delaying treatment, and having a major impact on patients’ lives.
“I’ve had patients that have ... been able to work and return to work, where previously they’ve lost multiple jobs because they’ve not been able to engage appropriately,” Hoffman told AAP.
“And so the delay of that happening now instead of happening in 12 months is quite literally life changing for some of my patients.”
More than one million Australians are living with the condition, amounting to about one-in-20 people.
Hoffman said it was particularly challenging for patients who lived out of the city, who often had to take time off work and school to travel to specialists.
“ADHD shouldn’t be anything more than asthma or depression or any other chronic disease,” she said.
“It should it should be something that your GP can manage.”
Around 70 percent of the first cohort of GPs able to diagnose ADHD are in regional and rural NSW.
After diagnosing patients, the qualified GPs will then be able to start them on psychostimulant medication.
NSW Health Minister Ryan Park said a further 300 GPs were about to begin the training.
“We will see more and more come on board to be able to give the community greater access to GPs who can provide this service,” he told reporters on Oct. 21.
A list of NSW GPs able to diagnose ADHD will be available online from next month.
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By Sarah Spina-Matthews in Sydney
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