UPDATE April 2026
Due to NHS commissioning arrangements set by the local integrated care boards (ICB) there are limits on how many patients can be seen by a provider for assessment and medication pathways each financial year. This is part of an Indicative Activity Plan (IAP) which manages capacity across the NHS. As a provider, we are unable to override these limits. As the IAPs are set at the start of each financial year, it is difficult for us to predict how long patients will wait for an assessment past the current financial year. We are now closed to new referrals for children in Norfolk and Suffolk due to these limits. We appreciate your understanding and patience. We will update everyone on our waiting list with information as we receive it.
Community Assessment Therapy Services (CATS) have been commissioned by the Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care Board (ICB) to assess children and young people between the ages of 6-18 for Autism, ADHD or combined Autism and ADHD through the Right to Choose pathway. You will need to be referred by your GP, please complete our parent form (linked below) and ask your GP to submit this with their referral.
In Norfolk & Waveney, your GP can access the referral form at Knowledge Anglia. If you live outside Norfolk & Waveney, you will need to download the GP referral form.
Everyone, no matter the area needs to Complete our parent form, and ask your GP to send them both to referrals@rtccatservices.uk. You will need to travel to one of our clinics either Bungay, Lowestoft of Norwich to be seen by our clinicians face-to-face for up to 3 separate appointments.
What is Right to Choose?
The NHS Choices framework allows patients in England the legal right to choose where they receive their NHS care. This means your GP can refer your child to us (a private provider) for an NHS assessment. Please see more information on the NHS website - Your choices in the NHS - NHS.
Our assessments
CATS can provide Autism, ADHD or a combined assessment for children and young people aged 6-18. We also provide an ADHD review service with access to medication.
Our assessment pathway is led by our Clinical Director, Dr Susan Zeitlin, Consultant Community Paediatrician, our Managing Director, Tabitha Filer, Neurodevelopmental Specialist and our Business Manager, Hayley Harris. We are one of only 3 providers in the UK that are partnered with the National Autistic Society.
Some providers provide online assessments; however, we believe a face-to-face, personal assessment is best for children and young people and their families. What also sets us apart from other providers is that we complete observations in primary schools or alternative provision as part of our assessment. For children in high school or college, we gather information from the teachers who know them best.
Assessment Process
Please ask your GP to refer to Community Assessment Therapy Services (CATS), complete our parent form and ask your GP to send their referral form along with your parent form to referrals@rtccatservices.uk. Once we have received this information, our clinical team will triage the referral to ensure we are the right service.
Once your referral has been accepted, we will contact you by email or
phone to arrange a date for the assessment, and we will contact the
school to gather information or arrange an observation if required. We may also send you and
the school some other screening forms to complete by email.
Contractually, we are limited to the number of child assessments we can complete each year. It is predicted that our wait time will exceed 1 year. This is subject to change. All providers on the right to choose framework are provided with an indicative activity plan by the ICB. Providers cannot exceed the activity in this plan. If you wish to discuss the wait times, please contact your local ICB.
We are unable to advise on specific waiting times.
To prepare your child for their visit, please see pictures of our clinic rooms and take a video tour.
On the day of the appointment, you and your child will have an appointment with a clinician to take a developmental history and discuss your current concerns. Another clinician will see your child to complete an ADOS-2 and/or a QB Check at the same time, where possible.
Once the assessments are complete, we will hold a multidisciplinary team meeting to discuss the findings of the assessment and email you with a written final report. This will be followed by a virtual feedback meeting with a member of the clinical team to discuss the outcome of the assessment.
If your child receives a diagnosis of ADHD we are able to offer initiation of ADHD medication, titration and ongoing monitoring, depending on the area in which you live and if your GP is able to share care with us.
If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at referrals@rtccatservices.uk
FAQs
How can my child be referred under Right to Choose?
If your child is registered with a GP based in England and is aged between 6 and 18 years you can ask your GP to refer to us.
My child is on the NHS waiting list for an assessment. Can I transfer to Right to Choose?
Yes, ask your GP to change the referral to a right to choose and send this to your chosen provider.
My child has had an assessment already, but did not receive a diagnosis. Can I have them reassessed via Right to Choose?
There is an exception under right to choose that a person who has already been assessed by the NHS cannot access a further assessment under right to choose for the same condition. You would need to contact your local ICB to establish if there are any exceptions to this.
