Does right to choose apply to ADHD and autism assessments?

Yes, in England. If your GP agrees you need an assessment, you can ask to be referred to any provider that holds an NHS standard contract for that service, including providers outside your area. The GP must agree the referral is clinically appropriate; the choice of provider is then yours.

Can I change hospital if I am already on a waiting list?

You can ask. If you have waited more than 18 weeks and have no date for treatment within the next 8 weeks, NHS England says your hospital should offer to move you to another provider that can see you sooner. Before 18 weeks it is at the hospital's discretion, and a new referral may put you at the back of the new list.

Your right to choose on the NHS

Q: Can I choose any hospital in England on the NHS?

For most planned care, yes: when your GP refers you for a first outpatient appointment you can choose any hospital or clinic in England that provides that service under an NHS contract, including independent hospitals. The exceptions are urgent and emergency care, maternity, prison healthcare, and mental health services where a different right applies.

When a GP refers you for a first outpatient appointment in England, you can pick the hospital. Not just the nearest one: any hospital or clinic that provides the service under an NHS contract, including independent hospitals, with the NHS paying. Most people are never told.

What the right covers

The NHS Constitution gives you the legal right to choose the organisation that provides your NHS care when you are referred for a first outpatient appointment, and to choose the team led by a particular consultant where that is clinically appropriate. The organisation must hold an NHS contract for the service, and the referral must be for a service that is covered.

It does not cover emergency or urgent care, maternity care, prison healthcare, or cases where you are already being treated for the condition. Mental health services have their own version of the right.

How to use it, step by step

Find a hospital with a shorter wait before your appointment. Look up your specialty for your area on this site: every hospital within 25 miles, ranked by how long people actually waited last month, with the independent hospitals that take NHS referrals marked "Free on the NHS". Print the GP sheet from that page.
Tell your GP which hospital you want. Say it plainly: "I would like to use my right to choose and be referred to [hospital]." You do not need a reason, and you can name a consultant-led team if you have one in mind. Referrals go through the NHS e-Referral Service, which lists every provider that can take you.
Check the referral letter. You should get a reference number (a UBRN) and a password, or a confirmed booking. If the hospital named is not the one you asked for, go back to the practice; it is your choice, not theirs.
If the practice says no. Ask which exception applies. If none does, ask for the practice manager, and if needed contact your local integrated care board, which is responsible for making sure the right is honoured.

Independent hospitals that hold an NHS contract treat you as an NHS patient: no bill, the same waiting time rights, and you can be referred back to the NHS afterwards.

Already waiting? You can still move

If you have been on a waiting list for more than 18 weeks and your hospital cannot give you a date within the next 8 weeks, NHS England's guidance says the hospital should offer you the chance to move to another provider that can treat you sooner, including independent hospitals. Ask the hospital's patient advice and liaison service (PALS) or the consultant's secretary, in writing. The already-waiting page drafts the letter for you from your own dates.

ADHD and autism assessments

This is where the right is used most, and where waits are longest. In England, if your GP agrees that an assessment is appropriate, you can ask to be referred under right to choose to any provider that has an NHS standard contract for ADHD or autism assessment, wherever it is based, and the NHS pays. Providers publish their own waiting times, which are often far shorter than the local service. Your GP needs to agree the referral is clinically appropriate, and some practices ask you to complete screening questionnaires first; that is reasonable. What is not reasonable is refusing the provider you have chosen because it is not local.

Two things to check with the provider before you ask: that they hold an NHS contract for the assessment (ask them, they will say), and what happens after diagnosis, since shared-care arrangements for medication depend on your GP agreeing to them.

Where the shortest waits were in August 2026

Trauma and orthopaedics: Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre - St Marys Portsmouth, half of patients treated within 9 weeks.
Ophthalmology: Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre - St Marys Portsmouth, half of patients treated within 4 weeks.
General surgery: Practice Plus Group Surgical Centre - St Marys Portsmouth, half of patients treated within 6 weeks.

Pick what you need to see every hospital near you: Bones, joints and muscles (Trauma and orthopaedics)Eyes (Ophthalmology)Ears, nose and throat (Ear, nose and throat)Gynaecology Skin (Dermatology)General surgery Bladder, kidneys and prostate (Urology)Heart (Cardiology)

What to say to your GP

"I would like to use my right to choose under the NHS Constitution. Please refer me to [hospital or provider] for [specialty]. I have checked that they hold an NHS contract for this service."

Sources: The NHS Constitution for England (your rights, choice); NHS England, patient choice guidance; NHS England guidance on patient-initiated moves after 18 weeks. Last checked 14 October 2026. Rights are summarised here; the documents linked are the authority. Not medical advice.