Getting referred :)

[Astroganga]

Had my GP appointment today. Was a bit nervous and a bit worried as I don't like to stereotype but I googled the doctor and found she must have been born in the late 50s. Her picture also isn't on the picture with all the doctors on in the gp surgery and I couldn't find it online so I couldn't tell if she looked friendly or not. Thankfully she was very friendly and approachable and within less than two minutes (I only just started talking about my obsessive interests and social problems) she agreed to a referral and wrote the letter to the local adult autism service while I was there. She said the service would send me an appointment letter in 3-4 weeks for an assessment, I presume judging from what I have heard about the service in this area that it is an interim assessment at first, and if I haven't received anything in a month to contact the gp surgery so they can chase it up. Thank you to everyone who encouraged me with this I didn't expect it to be so 'easy' but I think the GP must've had experience of this before because she seemed to just know by looking at me as I walked in.

 

[Mia]

I'm glad it went well Astroganga. Sometimes it seems so difficult to get anyone to listen, and then you get the perfect one and its not as difficult as it has been in the past. Have had similar experiences and it does seem that the more experienced and aware people are, the better. Although I've had quite elderly GP's who don't seem to want to refer and take it personally when you ask for a specialist referral. As if somehow you were questioning their skills.

 

[metalminx24]

Yay! Really pleased for you [emoji4]

 

[Astroganga]

I'm glad it went well Astroganga. Sometimes it seems so difficult to get anyone to listen, and then you get the perfect one and its not as difficult as it has been in the past. Have had similar experiences and it does seem that the more experienced and aware people are, the better. Although I've had quite elderly GP's who don't seem to want to refer and take it personally when you ask for a specialist referral. As if somehow you were questioning their skills.

Thanks. That was my worry with this particular GP but it was unfounded, thankfully. I was expecting to have a fight on my hands so much so I had to ask her if she was sure and if that was everything when she had agreed to the referral and was saying goodbye. Xx

 

[Astroganga]

That's a shame I used to live somewhere like that and it caused a lot of problems, it was actually a couple who were the only GPs but the wife was always jetting off somewhere with no locum cover and the husband of the couple refused to see patients for a huge long list of things that he said only his wife could deal with. In my old area there was a choice of a largish group practice or the GP that was nearer but was literally one doctor-I chose the former and it was a good choice. This time I sought out the same and they have been really good but others in the area have started to catch on to how much better they are and due to that and NHS cuts they are snowed under at the moment.