Sir Simon Wessely: key facts
- Kind of voice
- Clinician
- Role
- Chair of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London
- Quoted on
- Mental health, Adult social care & reform
- Tracked press citations
- 5
- Most recently quoted
- 9 Oct 2026
- First quoted
- 8 Sept 2026
“The recent exponential rise in those diagnosed, as well as even larger numbers waiting to be assessed, means we have reached a tipping point where people are at risk of being misdiagnosed with ADHD and autism.”
What Sir Simon Wessely has said
“That's sometimes been attributed to personal failures, people being told they're making it up, it's all in their head, which is absolute nonsense.”
Leading psychiatrist and vice-chair of the review · Mental health · 9 Oct 2026 · NHS at risk of ‘system failures’ as demand for ADHD and autism care soars, inquiry finds ↗
“When I chaired the Independent Review of the Mental Health Act, I met a service user who told me that she was certain that being sectioned had saved her life, but she added 'why was it such a terrible experience?' - why indeed. Our review proposed giving patients more of a say over their care, to ensure they were treated with greater dignity and respect, but without jeopardising the safety of others.”
Chair of Psychological Medicine, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London · Mental health · 30 Sept 2026 · Mental Health Bill receives Royal Assent, revolutionising care ↗
“An independent review of the Mental Health Act, chaired by Professor Sir Simon Wessely, President of the Royal Society of Medicine, found rising rates of detention under the act, along with racial disparities, and poor patient experience especially for autistic people and those with a learning disability”
President of the Royal Society of Medicine · Adult social care & reform · 8 Sept 2026 · Lords to consider landmark reforms to mental health care ↗
“acting as vice-chair”
former president of the Royal College of Psychiatry · Mental health · 27 Aug 2026 · Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soar ↗
Where Sir Simon Wessely has been quoted
- NHS England mental health services review: what has it found and what does it recommend?theguardian.com · 9 Oct 2026
- NHS at risk of ‘system failures’ as demand for ADHD and autism care soars, inquiry findstheguardian.com · 9 Oct 2026
- Mental Health Bill receives Royal Assent, revolutionising caregov.uk · 30 Sept 2026
- Lords to consider landmark reforms to mental health carecarehomeprofessional.com · 8 Sept 2026
- Wes Streeting orders review of mental health diagnoses as benefit claims soartheguardian.com · 27 Aug 2026
Related media coverage
Recent UK press coverage of their topics — not necessarily citing them directly.
- Norwich City teams up with The Royal Foundation to support suicide preventionNorwich City Football Club
- One Year On: How The Royal Foundation is strengthening suicide prevention support in the UKRoyal Foundation
- Licensable picture: The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention hosted its annual Out of the Darkness Walk on Oct. 10 in Staunton's Gypsy HillReuters Connect
Doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and other registered clinicians quoted in a clinical capacity. Citations are counted by an automated scan of UK press coverage and may be incomplete. Roles, biographies and contact details are researched and human-reviewed before they appear here; anything not yet reviewed is simply absent rather than shown unverified. This profile was last updated on 9 Oct 2026. See the methodology for how this page is built, or email contact@bridgeheadcommunications.com to correct anything on it.