Ellen O’Donoghue

The ADHD grey zone: why patients are stuck between private diagnosis and NHS care NHS England pays for private assessments under ‘right to choose’, but can reject diagnoses and is struggling to cope with demand

The ADHD grey zone: why patients are stuck between private diagnosis and NHS care

🗞️Breaking News! We're delighted to announce we have signed the lease on our new centre in Birmingham, and will be able to offer free, life-saving therapy to suicidal men in the West Midlands within months. www.jamesplace.org.uk/james-place-... #suicide #suicideprevention

🗡️ Traitors: Greek Gods
Part 1! Can you guess who your favourite will be?

Our Chief Executive @ellenod.bsky.social and former client Achal were interviewed by ITV News yesterday for the launch of the Men's Health Strategy. We're proud to have played a part in this. You can catch up on the ITV piece here www.itv.com/news/2025-11...
#suicide #suicideprevention

Our Chief Executive Ellen O'Donoghue @ellenod.bsky.social contributed to this fantastic free guide from Ripple Suicide Prevention and Zero Suicide Alliance which aims to make talking about suicide easier - at work, in schools, and at home.
Download it free at zurl.co/EllenO

Young northerners are born into an unacceptable baseline:

➡️ 1M are in poverty
➡️ They wait up to 10x longer for talking therapies
➡️ They receive 10% less school funding & have worse outcomes
➡️ They access smaller green spaces
➡️ They were hit hardest by library closures

Research shows SUVs three times more likely to kill a child under 10 - Highways News A group of school children will urge councillors in London to take action to stop ‘carspreading’ as new research shows SUVs are three times more likely to kill a child under the age of 10. A delegatio...

Good luck to the children speaking tonight at this #Lambeth council meeting. Children aged 0–9 are three times more likely to die from a collision when hit by an SUV. We need councils to introduce ways to curb the rise of bigger, heavier vehicles. #Carspreading

Teen drug use today, mental health struggles tomorrow? What the evidence says.

A new Danish study (68,000+ teens, followed for 8 years) has a clear message: early substance use isn’t just a phase - it can lead to serious mental health struggles later.

🧵 THREAD

buff.ly/IZmKwDz

Meet one of our therapists at James' Place - Andrew. Andrew has a strong grounding in trauma-informed therapy and a background working across both private practice and specialist mental health services. Read more www.jamesplace.org.uk/meet-the-the... #suicide #suicideprevention #menshealthweek

We’re delighted to be taking part in the Pride parade in London this year for the first time – hope to see some of you there and Happy Pride! #suicide #suicideprevention #pride

Today marks seven years since we opened the first James' Place in Liverpool. We now have three centres (Liverpool, London & Newcastle) & 21 therapists providing up to 262 sessions of free, life-saving therapy every week to men in suicidal crisis. jamesplace.org.uk/support #suicide #suicideprevention

Some highlights from SoS speech at #NHSConfedExpo

✅ Clearer priorities/fewer targets
✅ A slimmed down Centre
✅ICBs as strategic commissioners of local services
✅ Reinvigorate the FT model
✅ Change the financial rules - focus on outcomes/reform the tariff
✅ More integration between providers

I’m looking forward to reading this - congratulations!

A cold childhood My unheated home wasn’t a temporary discomfort. The chill got into my bones.

Me in The New Statesman today on poverty.

Please share :)

The Mousa broch is mentioned in Orkneyinga saga when Erlendr abducts the mother of Haraldr Jarl and holes up in the broch, besieged by Haraldr. In Egils saga, Björn and Thora elope from Norway and are shipwrecked on Mousa; they spend the winter together in the broch. Two similar stories?

As you can see, I’ve been dragging my long-suffering husband around some of the most beautiful places in the world in search of the Vikings! This is St Ninian’s Isle again, looking back towards the Norse Christian ruins, just barely visible on the skyline.

Children constantly tell us about the shame and stigma they experience due to not being able to afford the cost of school.

This new research by @cpaguk.bsky.social highlights the further financial pressure families on low incomes face.

1/3

This #NeurodiversityCelebrationWeek, and every week, James’ Place is here for neurodivergent men in suicidal crisis. Everyone’s mind is different, and so our therapy approach is designed around the man, rather than one size fits all. For more info about us go to jamesplace.org.uk/support #suicide

Hetan Shah, chief executive of the British Academy, said inequality was “the primary story of the pandemic”. “You still find that people from poorer backgrounds are more likely to have been impacted,” Shah said, adding that the rate of long Covid in the most deprived households is double that of the most wealthy. “One of the dreadful things about the pandemic was that, as a side-effect, there was less money to invest in public services across the piece. The worry is that some of the trends we’re seeing, unless there’s active work to stop them, will continue.”

I’m quoted on the front page of the Observer today. They are looking back at the effects of the pandemic five years on. I say that it is primarily a story of inequalities. The poorest, disabled, young people have suffered the fallout, but this is easy to overlook
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/m...

Mental health patients with nowhere to go cost NHS £71m in England, report finds Accommodation shortages caused 109,000 days of delayed discharge in 2023-24, says National Housing Federation

In my 35 years in #mentalhealth poor #housing or a lack of has always been the thing that causes significant and enduring harm. Supported accommodation that is safe and close to one’s community is too hard to find. This is an important piece of research 👇🏼
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

It's #fundraisingfriday and we want to say a huge thank you to the wonderful journalists who took part in @thetimes.com charity appeal phone in earlier this week to raise funds for us. Thank you so much to everyone who called in and donated.💙 Read more here www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...

Clinical Administrator, James' Place Liverpool | James' Place The successful candidate will take a key role in facilitating a warm welcome to the Liverpool Centre for men in suicidal crisis.

We're #recruiting for a Clinical Administrator to join our team at James' Place Liverpool. You will be the first point of contact for men in suicidal crisis, and provide admin support to the clinical team. More info at www.jamesplace.org.uk/clinical-adm... #liverpooljobs #suicideprevention

Adults diagnosed with ADHD have shorter life expectancy, UK study shows Data based on recorded deaths raises concerns around under-diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

It's been reasonably well established ADHD/Autistic individuals have lower life expectancies. Often this is caused by a lack of adjustments to enable us to access equal healthcare. Add this to the many reasons we need better investment in support and diagnosis.
www.theguardian.com/society/2025...

Caitlin Moran looks like a fabulous eighties bitch and James Marriot looks no more than twelve years old

I'm womanning the lines today - my shift is around 5pm! - for The TImes charity appeal. I moaned they hadn't put a photo of me on any of the posters, so they dug this one out. Fair fucks, social media department.

Fancy a chat with Giles Coren or Charlotte Ivers? Now’s your chance More than 30 of our journalists will take your calls on Wednesday for the last day of The Times and The Sunday Times Christmas Appeal

Tomorrow at 5pm I'll be on the phonelines for The Times' charity appeal: ring in and let's chat! www.thetimes.com/uk/society/a...

And people with #ADHD and menopausal women and people with cystic fibrosis and organ transplants. It's SCARY.

My 3rd UK charities starter pack which I started last week is already almost a third full.

Will there be a flurry of new starters I can add this #BlueMonday / #Xodus day?

Brilliant and absolutely crucial piece on a step change in thinking about suicide from our trustee @roryoc.bsky.social

"We need a step change in how we think about suicide"

Proud to be a Trustee of @jamesplaceuk.bsky.social who are working tirelessly to support men who are suicidal

This is an important - and devastating - article from @gabyhinsliff.bsky.social “It’s only when they’re lying bleeding on the pavement, crying for their mothers while some passing stranger holds their hand, that suddenly the world starts to see them as the children they still are”