Looking In The Wrong Direction: Nurse Critical of Health Ministry ADHD Drug Proposals

13 June 2025. The New Zealand Reporter. This article: the ADHD prescription regime.

Nursing specialist Robin E. Wynne Williams not enthused with Ministry of Health proposed changes to the current ADHD-drug regime in place in New Zealand and the prospect it will improve the lives of sufferers.

Robin Wynne Williams speaking before the Christchurch City Council in May last year.

This is still a proposal which is being managed by the Ministry of Health (Medsafe) and Pharmac and no final decisions have been made.

Health NZ Spokesperson, 6 June 2025

It has proposed to expand the range of specialist who can prescribe ADHD medication to nurses and GPs for adults and nurses for children. It has also completed a survey to ascertain the depth of “scale and impacts” of ADHD and other “mental health and neurological conditions”.

“I have little faith in what is stated,” said Wynne-Williams.

“The major factor is that the gps are spooked because Medsafe/Pharmac disenfranchised them more than 20 yrs ago and that will take years to turn around.”

“The clinical psychologists and have a higher recognition than the gps!! Believe it. Iv watched the decline for more than 25 yrs.”

Between December last year and February, Pharmac and Medsafe consulted on proposed changes to the current prescribing regime. That allows only paediatricians and psychiatrists to prescribe ADHD medication.

“The proposed changes,” said the Ministry of Health, “will allow General Practitioners and Nurse Practitioners to initiate prescribing of ADHD stimulant medications for adults [italics added].”

“Diagnosis and initiation of prescribing of stimulant treatments for children and adolescents with ADHD will still require involvement from paediatricians and psychiatrists working within specialist services but will expand to include Nurse Practitioners also working within these settings [italics added].”

“As these proposed changes relate to regulations administered by Medsafe, they do not require any legislative change and the changes will be notified through the NZ Gazette.”

The proposals did not enchant Wynne-Williams.

“It has been my experience that Nurse Practitioners work under the auspices of the gps, and many of the gps will not act without a psychiatrist oversight because ADHD is classified as a mental health disorder by the DSM 5 whereas the ICD11 classifies ADHD as a neuro developmental disorder.”