Sleep Medicine Pathway | Neurospectrum

Sleep Medication Service

Research has shown that sleep problems are common and even more so in people with neurodiversity.

People with sleep problems are more likely to be inattentive, hyperactive, and impulsive. Oppositional and risk-taking behaviour is more common in sleep-deprived children, and a lack of sleep can make ADHD symptoms worse.

Sleep loss can impact daytime functioning, including mood disturbances, behaviour problems and cognitive impairment, consequently affecting the ability to learn or work.

At Neurospectrum, we offer a comprehensive assessment of your sleep by trained sleep counsellors who can then offer a range of sleep hygiene advice, strategies, and, if required, a medication known as Melatonin. We will work with you to understand your sleep problem and support a bespoke treatment plan.

Who Can Have Sleep Medication?

Neurospectrum Clients who have:

Been diagnosed with ADHD and or Autism by Neurospectrum and have had their first diagnostic appointment.
Have exhausted non-pharmacological strategies without success.
Had a Treatment Consultation to assess their current difficulties and perform a comprehensive psychological and social well-being assessment to ensure that sleep medication was safe and appropriate.
Given consent for us to request a Medical Summary from your GP.
Been discussed at our Senior Treatment Team meeting, and the outcome is that we feel that sleep medication is an appropriate option for them.
Had a Treatment Consultation with a qualified Clinician who identified sleep as an issue impacting daily function.We can initiate medication if we deem it safe and appropriate

When is Sleep Medication Not Appropriate?

We cannot prescribe medication if:

You have not been diagnosed with ADHD or Autism by Neurospectrum.
You haven’t consented to us accessing their GP Medical Summary or given us inaccurate information during consultations.
You have an autoimmune disorder or any kidney or liver issues.
For any other reason, we do not feel that medication is currently appropriate and safe for you.

Our Sleep Service Pathway

Initiation Appointment
In this appointment, we will review your GP summary with you, further explore your sleep pattern and reasons for requiring a sleep assessment, and record your height and weight if we agree to a medication trial.
We will then complete a comprehensive sleep assessment that enables us to consider both nonpharmacological and pharmacological options. If we deem medication safe and appropriate, we can then consider and initiate it.We will then discuss the risks and benefits of sleep medication with you if it is deemed necessary and answer any of your questions. If it is agreed that you should proceed, you will be given a prescription for the medication and written guidance on what to do should you experience any side effects
Review Appointment
We require you to attend review appointments to see how you respond to your medication.
This session will include discussing your current sleep pattern and any possible side effects of medication if prescribed, as well as monitoring your height and weight. Review appointments will continue until you are stable on medication with satisfactory improvement in functioning, then be every 6 months
If your GP agrees, we can hand over-prescribing to them under Shared Care

Cost and Availability of Sleep Medication

With a private prescription, you will need to pay for the total cost of the medicine plus a dispensing fee, which covers the pharmacy’s costs.

The pharmacy will calculate the total cost you or your medical insurance company will pay.The cost of different Melatonin medications varies and is subject to change.

We will include this information when working with you to decide which medication will be best for you

Do We Offer Shared Care?

Shared Care is an agreement between a specialist provider (in this case, Neurospectrum), the patient, and the patient’s GP.

Once a patient is stabilised on medication, we can write to their GP to ask if they would be happy to take over regular monitoring and prescribing of the medication. The GP is allowed to refuse this.

Since it has become more widely understood that some private clinics perform inadequate ADHD and Autism assessments, many GP practices have a policy not to accept Shared Care for medications from ANY private providers.

We are CQC-registered and do our best to work collaboratively with all GP practices. Ultimately, it is your GP’s decision.

If your GP refuses Shared Care, we can continue to manage your ADHD/sleep medication.