Still waiting for appointment - how much longer?

[SRamkin]

Hi

Does anyone know how long does it take to get an appointment after your GP has referred you to a specialist (rheumatologist/renal doctor)? I received a letter confirming the referral on October 4. I haven’t been feeling well for some time now and I don’t know what to do.

Thanks

[Jarrod]

They told me 6 months - I ended up going private as I couldn't wait, but even that wasn't the answer.

Try and find out if the rheumatologist is familar with Lupus and do they already have Lupus patients; This will save so much time getting referred again. My first rheumatologist didn't have a clue about Lupus and just wanted to put my on antidepressants.

I'm now on my 3rd rheumatologist and realise that my only real option is to go to the Lupus clinic in London for any proper care (my current rheumatologist thinks GPs should deal with Lupus!?!)

Not what you want to hear, sorry - but each town/county is different; you might get an appointment really quick

[SRamkin in reply to Jarrod]

Thanks!

I know that the hospital here specialises in Lupus, so that's a good thing! Seeing a private doctor is out of question at the moment, though. I guess I'll just wait.

Thanks again!

[KathinAyrshire]

My average wait for an urgent appointment with the rheumy is seven months! It depends how busy they are I suppose. You have two courses of action, nag your gp to upgrade your referral, and the other, which I have not tried but a friend has successfully, is to ring the specialists secretary and ask for your appointment to be brought forward, it might work, can but say no. Best of luck and hope you soon feel better.

[SRamkin in reply to KathinAyrshire]

Thanks!

I'm not the kind of person that would ‘push things’ - I'd rather suffer in silence or just ignore the symptoms - so I'll just wait.

The reason I posted this question is because I'm here as a student and everyone at the practice where I registered had been so dismissive that it wouldn't surprise me if the GP diregarded my diagnosis.

Anyway, thanks a lot for your response.

[Hidden]

hi sramkin

i was in your position waiting for an appointment to finally come through,i too was very unwell and was so desperate.

my GP referred me in oct 2011 and by dec 2011 i still had not heard and i got a little worried, so i phoned gp asked what rheumy he reffered me to and then phoned that rheumy secretary direct and she was amazing and by the end of the day had booked me an appointment for the following january.

sometimes you need to speak out to get anywhere and once you have Your first appointment you are then in the system with a hospital number YEAH !!!

[Riverbird]

Hi sramkin

It depends where you live and what the urgent waiting list is like. Ring the rheumy secretary and if no joy, then ring her again in a week or so! Also you can ring appointments and flag up that you will take a short notice cancellation. If you are prepared and able to travel, you can find out where the shortest waiting times are on the internet, and ask to change your referral to there. Just be careful though why that is, sometimes they are simply more efficient at their clinics, and have more clinical staff.

This is from the waiting times NHS website:

nhs.uk/choiceintheNHS/Right...

"You have the right to start your consultant-led treatment within a maximum of 18 weeks from referral, unless you choose to wait longer, or it is clinically appropriate that you wait longer. This includes treatments where a consultant retains overall clinical responsibility for the service or team, or for your treatment. This means the consultant will not necessarily be present for each appointment, but will take overall responsibility for your care. The setting of your consultant-led treatment, for example whether hospital-based or in a community-based clinic, will not affect your right to treatment within 18 weeks."

Good luck.

[SRamkin in reply to Riverbird]

Thank you very much!

I will look into that.