Dr Adrian James, NHS England’s first Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity

For Mental Health Awareness Week, Ben chats with Dr Adrian James, one of the UK’s most senior psychiatrists and NHS England’s first Medical Director for Mental Health and Neurodiversity.

Adrian takes on this role at a crucial time, with rising waitlists, overwhelmed services turning away new referrals, and medication shortages forcing patients to ration.

They delve into the postcode lottery of waiting lists, ongoing medication shortages, the lack of accessible NHS data, obstacles to the Right to Choose, why autism in women is so often overlooked, and what’s needed to fix a broken system.