NHS psychiatrist Dr Max Pemberton uses a Channel 4 documentary to challenge the surge in ADHD diagnoses and medication, raising concerns over diagnostic methods and the influence of modern pressures.
Dr Max Pemberton has used a new Channel 4 documentary to argue that ADHD has been overdiagnosed and too readily medicated, drawing on his 23 years as an NHS psychiatrist to say he has seen a dramatic rise in referrals, assessments and prescriptions. In the Radio Times article that accompanies the programme, he says the condition has gone from being uncommon in children and almost unheard of in adults to affecting an estimated 2.5 million people in England, while around 270,000 children and young people are said to be waiting for an assessment.
His concerns come as demand for help has continued to climb. A study published in BMJ Mental Health found that ADHD prescriptions in England have risen by 18% a year since the pandemic, increasing from about 25 per 1,000 people in 2019-20 to 41.55 per 1,000 in 2023-24. The Guardian reported in March that the increase has been especially marked in London, where prescribing has grown faster than in other parts of the country. Analysts have linked the rise to greater awareness, including discussion on social media, as well as the disruption of daily life during Covid-19.
Pemberton also questions how ADHD is diagnosed, arguing that the process can be too subjective and reliant on checklists of behaviour rather than any biological test. In the Radio Times piece, he says brain scans do not reliably distinguish people with the diagnosis from those without it, and he describes a private assessment he paid for himself. That view is contested in the wider medical debate: researchers at University College London said in June that ADHD may still be under-recognised in adults, with recorded diagnosis rates in England below international estimates of prevalence.
The documentary centres on a 10-year-old boy who stopped taking lisdexamfetamine under medical supervision, changed his routine and initially seemed happier off the medication, even as school became harder to manage. That example reflects the central tension in the current debate: whether rising diagnosis and treatment rates are a sign of better recognition of ADHD, or evidence that normal difficulties are being medicalised too quickly. Pemberton’s broader argument is that schools, screens and modern pressures may be helping to create the problem, not just reveal it.
Disclaimer: This content is for informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical judgment, advice, diagnosis, or treatment.
