DisCam, the University of Oxford’s Student Union Disabilities Campaign has put out a statement to “express their support for all students currently affected by the national shortage of medication used to help manage the symptoms of ADHD”, and are taking steps to aid students in a “non-medical capacity”.
This comes during a national shortage of three varieties of ADHD medication was announced at the start of October, with the Department for Health and Social Care stating that “increased global demand and manufacturing issues” are behind the shortage.
Government analysis suggests supply issues could reportedly last until December.
The campaign has informed the university’s Disability Advisory Service of its awareness of the issue, and has added its support to informing colleges, tutors, and welfare teams about issues the shortage may cause.
DisCam are running study sessions for all students using a “body doubling technique”, in which students work alongside others in order to manage ADHD and other forms of neurodivergence such as executive dysfunction.
The campaign is also writing a guide for how people with ADHD can attempt to get their medication from a different pharmacy using their original prescription.
DisCam closed their statement by emphasising their support for those facing difficulties with university staff not making accommodations, and say they will “do our utmost to assist in ensuring students are treated fairly and not penalised”.
The charity ADHD UK estimates that between 3% and 4% of the UK population have some form of ADHD, based on data from NICE and Lancet.
Image Credit: Jesper Sehested Pluslexia.com via flickr
