Not-for-profit ADHD service launches as NHS waiting lists in Leeds hit ten years

Sort Health, a new not-for-profit ADHD assessment service based in West Yorkshire, is now open – offering adults an assessment within weeks rather than the decade-long waits many now face on NHS lists.

The NHS waiting list for adult ADHD assessment in Leeds currently stands at 4,500 people, and the list is closed to new referrals. Those already on it face an estimated wait of up to ten years.

Across West Yorkshire and the rest of the country, the picture is similarly bleak, with waiting times worsening year on year as demand outstrips capacity.

Sort Health is a private ADHD assessment service launched by Bevan Community Benefit Society, an established not-for-profit health and wellbeing organisation that has delivered NHS services in West Yorkshire since 2011.

Unlike the growing number of commercial providers cashing in on rising demand, Sort Health is structured as a Community Benefit Society. This means all surplus is reinvested back into Bevan services: its inclusion health work with communities in need.

“We’re not here to replace the NHS. We’re here because the NHS is overwhelmed and people simply cannot wait. Every assessment we deliver helps reduce the pressure on a system that is struggling to cope,” says Mathew Sidebottom, Director, Sort Health

Sort Health offers face-to-face assessments in Bradford, as well as online assessments for adults across the UK.

Assessments are carried out by experienced healthcare professionals who have conducted ADHD assessments within the NHS.

The service is deliberately designed to feel different from the high-volume commercial providers that have proliferated in recent years.

Rather than a single transactional appointment, Sort Health offers continuity of support: a dedicated care navigator helps people through the booking and pre-assessment process, follows up after diagnosis, and connects people to appropriate next steps – whether that is medication, coping strategies, or further support.

What makes Sort Health different
Not-for-profit model: Sort Health is structured so that surplus revenue is reinvested back into Bevan services which provide care to communities in need, not distributed to shareholders.

Experienced clinicians: Sort’s assessors have experience of carrying out assessments within the NHS. While the service is new, the expertise is established.

Person-centred process: A care navigator supports people from first enquiry through to post-assessment follow-up. No one is left to navigate the process alone.

Holistic approach: Sort Health’s goal is not simply to deliver a diagnosis. It is to help people understand what is happening and take practical steps towards feeling better, with or without medication.

Fair, transparent pricing: Assessment fees are in line with the market average, and unlike commercial providers, any surplus goes straight back into Bevan’s inclusion health services in Yorkshire.

Adults across the UK can book now or find out more at sorthealth.org.uk.