How long GP referral?

[celticlady]

Letter sent from GP 2 weeks ago to hospital. Just had phone call booking in for phone appointment in 2 weeks .... anyone had a similar experience?I'm in Leeds Yorkshire. I know NHS is in its knees but was hoping to get on a holter monitor. I guess unless you need critical care it's a long wait . Find phone appointment s very frustrating. Probs will be another month before holter stage. Any anecdotal experience appreciated. Currently on bisoprolol to calm the palps

[Heyjude31]

Hello Celtic lady, I am very sorry to hear of your frustrations with your referral. I can only sympathise as I am awaiting results from some tests and when I try to speak to a doctor I am told to wait for a telephone appointment. I have tried to book a face to face for a full medication review to be told I can’t do that.I now have a list of things to discuss with the GP and as my previous experience, I was told that I should only raise one issue at a time it may mean I end up making several calls. In summary I do hope you are able to get sorted soon. It is very frustrating and debilitating and doesn’t help the worry. Take care, Judi

[celticlady in reply to Heyjude31]

Thank you Judi. On the NHS pdf in my area it says up to13 weeks waiting list for hospital appointment...my local GP not too easy to arrange apps as unless emergency they take ages. I only got seen by GP as I had face tingling numbness and they suspected mini stroke.... neurology app given in 3 weeks...to be told I needed cardio. I must be patient. Was considering private but charges very high £250 for appointment £250 ECG £450 ultrasound....etc and if inconclusive it's an expensive prescription for beta blockers!! Will keep updating on here ..take care

[Heyjude31 in reply to celticlady]

Take care too x

[carer999 in reply to celticlady]

I was referred by my GP to a cardiologist in May 2021. I had a telephone consultation on 12 January 2022. Then waited 3 weeks for a 7 days ECG.

[celticlady in reply to carer999]

Wow...I should feel lucky then...maybe Leeds is a better cardio service it's the largest in UK I think. Did they reach any conclusions?

[carer999 in reply to celticlady]

Been waiting 3 weeks for results of 7 day ECG. They did say it would be 2 weeks, just didn't specify which 2 weeks

[celticlady in reply to carer999]

Where in UK are you?

[fairgo45 in reply to carer999]

What I always do is email the secretary of the cardiologist and ask to be sent a copy of holtor results. Then quickest thing is to send it to your GP and ask what does this all mean.

I'm in new zealand don't know if it works that way where you are

[ETHEL103 in reply to celticlady]

33 week wait for hospital appointments in my area Kent.

[Tessie28 in reply to celticlady]

Celtic lady, see my reply above. You get a choice on how long you wear it for and it is tiny compared with the NHS ones. Sure it costs but in the lower hundreds. York Cardiology he comes under. You may have seen his you tube.

[Comp1 in reply to Heyjude31]

Hi if its any help despite having Moderate COPD and stage 3 Heart failure I was getting no feedback from GP Surgery and I was having to chase surgery for every change made by heart nurse or hospital. I had several issues to discuss and lots of questions. Unable to spk to GP as my surgery does not have named GPs. Eventually I had enough of lack of interest or information so I sent email to Practice Manager voicing my concerns about treatment. Within a few days I received a Txt with a GP appointment. Saw a lovely Lady GP. I wrote a complete list of all my concerns and when asked at the appointment how they could help I gave the list and we worked through. I was in with GP for about 45 minutes and the result was lots of other tests. The end result was more communication and made me feel much better. I think being more persistent and a lot more pushy worked. Don't let them fob you off. Don,t be bullied by receptionist be more insistent. If your not happy with conversations you have tell them and if you disagree tell them I know they don,t always listen and I understand how busy they are, Because of my health conditions and the effects I am exempt from masks and always wear a lanyard explaining breathing problems One GP I saw for a severe back problem immediately questioned why no mask and was not happy. I asked if they had read my notes , they had not and they had not read the E consult I sent in. So I will not see that GP again. But most are good. My surgery has an online consultation system so its much easier now to make your thoughts known. Good luck give it a try.

[celticlady in reply to Comp1]

Thank you and hope all continues well for you

[Heyjude31 in reply to Comp1]

Hello Comp1. First of all thank you so much for replying, and sending such a detailed note. It is very kind of you and much appreciated. I do feel that during the last four or so months, I have been passed all over the place and received very little support. Particularly through the GP surgery. I have even ended up in A and E a few times, because I was so poorly and could not get any answers. Even going to hospital felt as though there was little support apart from one occasion, when someone listened and referred me.

I have a call tomorrow with one of the GPS, part of the issue is there is always a different GP I speak to so there is little if any continuity. I have a list of things to talk about so it will be interesting to see if I manage to talk through the list!

Thank you again for your support, it means a lot to me. Thank you Judi

[Comp1 in reply to Heyjude31]

good luck don,t forget to make sure they listen to you and if they dont then follow up to practice manager Hope all goes well 😀

[Heyjude31 in reply to Comp1]

Thank you so very much, take care, Judi

[JennyRx in reply to Comp1]

All patients are required to have a named GP. It’s not optional so email your practice manager

[Comp1 in reply to JennyRx]

ok thanks for help

[Chickenlou]

My fiancé was referred for a seven day holter monitor last year (it’s been so long I actually can’t remember when, but at a guess November time.)

His appointment to have it fitted is next Monday...the GP referred him as he began to have arrhythmias again 18 months after his bypass.

Hope you get yours sorted much quicker.

[celticlady in reply to Chickenlou]

Thank you ...I think it's a post code lottery!

[Jbeans]

I was in casualty in Oct 2021 with AF following a cardioversion 6 months earlier. Have had continual irregular heartbeat ever since. GP sent referral to cardiologist. Was given an appointment for 31 May 2022. In the end I made a private appointment and was seen within days. I am now taking a loading dose of amiodorone and have a cardioversion booked for mid March. Yes it cost £275 to go private but it was worth every penny. Treatment will be on the NHS.

[celticlady in reply to Jbeans]

Did the cost cover the consultation and also ultrasound...my cardiologist consultation only was £250.all tests extra.

[Ward12]

I’ve had the holter still waiting for results but had a telephone appointment to speak to cardiologist I’ve refused being profoundly deaf and they are rearranging face to face. Still waiting … since covid heart issues are left to the bottom of the pile unfortunately… good luck with everything x

[kkatz]

Hi Celticlady.I am in Leeds Also.All I can say is push nicely all of the time.It took me 6 months last year to get to the stage you are at.But bear in mind this was the first part of last year and more pressure on the Nhs & hospitals.My problem is Atrial Fibrillation . There was a 3 month wait for a echocardiogram & I went private for that. I got my 24 hr monitor the week after .I had to chase results after 10 days.Dont be afraid to chase.Just ask nicely.

Best of luck.

[celticlady in reply to kkatz]

Thank you. I may still consider private if have to wait months for ultrasound etc.

[kenhaem]

So the phone appointment is the first stage and now days that's very quick cardiology appointments can take months. Depending on circumstances a holter fitted can in days

[celticlady in reply to kenhaem]

Thank you

[The_Voice]

Usual wait is 6+ months if you’re lucky enough to get a referral in the first place. Had multiple trips to the A&E over a 3 year period and a cancelled referral to the chest pain clinic before I eventually got referred to a cardiologist.

[celticlady in reply to The_Voice]

Wow...I must be lucky with my GP practice or maybe the paramedics called out speed things up

[Junip]

I have a positive experience of cardiac follow up - cardioversion and ablation in the five month period in 2021 at Harrogate/ Leeds following a GP diagnosis of asymptomatic permanent AFib and HF. I was also grateful for the good support from my assigned cardiac nurse during that period. I know it IS frustrating while waiting for things to get going and waiting lists have only got longer in the interim but hang in there. We are both lucky to have NHS access to a centre of excellence.

[celticlady in reply to Junip]

Thank you.the beta blockers make it easier to cope with some symptoms.

[rizal]

HA a year ago almost to the day, dealt with at Harefield, then in July, ambulance ride to local hospital HF really bad difficulty breathing. A month or so after that a face to face with the cardiologist for a follow up. Have since then had a number of phone appts with GP as drugs and doses have been adjusted. In January my GP asked me to have a blood test - usual diabetic bloods with cholesterol, kidney function etc. The results came through very positive but in our phone appt to discuss them I expressed concern about small breathing and bloat feelings. She was sure they were down to anxiety but asked me to come in to see her giving me an appointment a week later. Left it that long just to see if it settled. Went in and she asked me how long it is since I saw the cardiologist, I told her, it was last autumn, so she said she would write to them and get me another appointment. (this was a week or 2 ago) Yesterday got a text from the cardio dept, I have an appointment on 11 March. Now that may be in response to the Dr's letter or just coincidence. But I certainly can't complain. Maybe I am lucky living here

[celticlady in reply to rizal]

Where are you based?

[rizal in reply to celticlady]

Leighton Buzzard, Central Beds. The hospital is in Milton Keynes. But as I said, the appt. may have been on the cards as a regular monitoring exercise and the Dr's letter a coincidence

[Tessie28]

Hi, I had a holter with Dr Sanjay Gupta. You get a consult both before and after and the cost was reasonable. Teresa

[celticlady in reply to Tessie28]

I heard about him...saw you tube videos. Glad you got sorted...he has an excellent reputation.

[Tricia7048]

Careful.hun about bisoprolol. Cardiologist changed me to Ivabradine as I got 20kg weight gain and very very painful kidney stones from it!!! Might just be my bad luck but better warned !They give us it cos its cheap!Me too waiting for hosp appt, 2 weeeks now and Im in severe pain! I had to pay to see cardiologist privately.to get any treatment there...and that is after heart attack! (£250 plus) NHS might be on its knees but we are too thru no fault of our own. Good luck hun!

[celticlady in reply to Tricia7048]

Thank you.... sorry to hear of those awful side effects. Hope all sorts itself soon.x

[Tricia7048 in reply to celticlady]

All the best to you xx

[Uxp_d]

Just had a referral dated 28 November 21 for physiophropy , reference Siatica,it got better itself in the meantime.

[celticlady]

Please let me know where in UK you are as it varies so much especially cardio referral s.

[nilmonisikdar40]

I thought Leeds is a nice place to be ill. I am in Kent. However I don't like the idea of telephone consultation. The Covid 19 situation is lot better and believe me or not consultants prefer to see face to face. This is management issue and managers want to show their power.

[Shrodie]

That is really quick, I wouldn’t complain

[RailRover]

3 months waited despite having a go at the cardiologist and him moving me up the list. His comment: There are a lot of you and not many of us.