Plain-English explanations of the technical terms and legislation used in this document.
- Anaphylaxis
- A severe, life-threatening allergic reaction needing immediate emergency treatment.
- Atomoxetine
- A non-stimulant medicine used to treat ADHD that can raise heart rate and blood pressure.
- Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- A condition affecting attention, activity levels and impulse control that can be treated with stimulant and non-stimulant medicines.
- Baseline assessment
- The set of physical health measurements and history taken before ADHD medication is started, against which later results are compared.
- British National Formulary (BNF) / British National Formulary for Children (BNFC)
- The standard UK reference works giving up-to-date guidance on choosing, prescribing and giving medicines, with a children's edition.
- Cardiology opinion
- Specialist advice from a heart doctor on whether a treatment is safe for a patient's heart and circulation.
- Cardiovascular
- Relating to the heart and blood vessels.
- Care Quality Commission (CQC)
- The independent regulator of health and social care services in England.
- Centile
- A position on a growth chart showing how a child compares with other children of the same age and sex; for example, the 95th centile means only 5 in 100 are higher.
- Clinical Governance Lead
- The person responsible for overseeing the quality and safety of clinical care, including audit and learning from incidents.
- Contemporaneously
- Recorded at the time the event happens or immediately afterwards, rather than written up later.
- Contraindication
- A specific situation in which a medicine should not be used because it could be harmful.
- Data Protection Act 2018
- The UK law, alongside the UK General Data Protection Regulation, that governs how personal information must be handled.
- Dexamfetamine
- A stimulant medicine used to treat ADHD.
- DNA (did not attend)
- A record that a patient did not come to a booked appointment.
- Electrocardiogram (ECG)
- A simple, painless test that records the heart's electrical activity to check its rhythm and function.
- Electronic medicines compendium (emc)
- The official online library where the approved prescribing information for medicines is published.
- Failsafe
- A built-in safety control designed to catch a problem (here, overdue monitoring) before it can cause harm.
- Faltering growth / growth suppression
- A sustained slowing of expected gain in height or weight, or a fall across growth centiles, that may be associated with ADHD medication.
- First-degree relative
- A parent, brother, sister or child of the patient.
- General Medical Council (GMC)
- The body that registers and regulates doctors in the UK and sets the standards they must follow.
- General practitioner (GP)
- The patient's family doctor, usually their first point of contact for general health care.
- Growth chart
- A UK reference chart on which a child's height and weight are plotted over time to track their growth.
- Guanfacine
- A non-stimulant ADHD medicine that can lower heart rate and blood pressure and should not be stopped abruptly.
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014
- The regulations setting out the fundamental standards that providers must meet, including Regulation 12 on safe care and treatment and Regulation 17 on good governance.
- Human Medicines Regulations 2012
- The main UK law controlling how medicines are licensed, supplied, prescribed and labelled.
- Hypertension / hypertensive range
- Blood pressure that is persistently higher than the healthy range.
- Lisdexamfetamine
- A stimulant medicine used to treat ADHD.
- Methylphenidate
- A commonly used stimulant medicine for treating ADHD.
- National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE)
- The national body that produces evidence-based guidance on treatments and care, including NICE guideline NG87 on ADHD.
- Non-medical prescriber
- A trained professional who is not a doctor, such as a nurse or pharmacist, who is qualified to prescribe medicines.
- Non-stimulant
- An ADHD medicine such as atomoxetine or guanfacine that works differently from the stimulant medicines.
- Paediatric
- Relating to the care of babies, children and young people.
- Palpitations
- An awareness of the heart beating fast, hard or irregularly.
- QT interval
- A measurement on an ECG; if it becomes too long, it can increase the risk of a dangerous heart rhythm.
- Registered Manager
- The person registered with the regulator as responsible for the day-to-day running of a service.
- Risk assessment
- A structured check identifying what could cause harm and what is being done to prevent it.
- Safeguarding
- Protecting people's health, wellbeing and rights and keeping them safe from abuse, harm or neglect.
- Single assessment framework
- The structure the regulator uses to judge a service, built around quality statements and five key questions (safe, effective, caring, responsive, well-led).
- Stadiometer
- A fixed measuring device used to record a person's height accurately.
- Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)
- A written, step-by-step instruction setting out exactly how a particular task is to be carried out.
- Stimulant
- An ADHD medicine such as methylphenidate, dexamfetamine or lisdexamfetamine that can raise heart rate and blood pressure.
- Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC)
- The regulator-approved document for a specific medicine setting out how it should be used, including doses, cautions and monitoring.
- Syncope
- A temporary loss of consciousness, commonly known as fainting.
- Tachycardia
- An abnormally fast heart rate.
- Tics
- Sudden, repeated movements or sounds that a person finds hard to control.
- Titration
- Gradually adjusting the dose of a medicine up or down to find the amount that works best with the fewest side effects.
- Treatment break
- A planned, time-limited period off medication (sometimes called a drug holiday), considered for example to assess growth or continued need.
- UK General Data Protection Regulation (UK GDPR)
- The UK's main data-protection law governing how personal information is collected and used.