What do you do if your GP won't refer... - NHS England: A Ca...
NHS England: A Call to Action
What do you do if your GP won't refer you to a specialist because he says there's no point.
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Why does he say there's no point?
If you suspect you have some of the symptoms of ovarian cancer, I am sure you would feel reassured if you look at the site ovacome.org.uk There is a symptom tracker on there where you cN record and print out your symptoms. You can look at lots of fact sheets under resources. There are also further details of support you can get from a nurse-led helpline
I hope that you can get the clarification you need
Love Wendy xx
Hello
Hello it depends on what the diagnosis and prognosis is you will need to make some decisions
Ask for a second opinion, in your practice, or change your practice.
Unfortunately in the NHS the GP is the 'gatekeeper' and there are very few ways of bypassing this. Even with private specialists most people are referred by GPs (although most private doctor secretaries will book you an appt if you call them up directly).
We know that GPs (who have a tricky but well paid job) are human and get things wrong like everyone else. In the worst cases (as wendydee says) that can lead to a different outcome particularly where time is of the essence as in cancer.
Probably the best you can do if you are worried is to research as much as possible online, try to identify any 'red flag' symptoms that you are worried about (or that should indicate the necessity for referral) and return to the GP and communicate them in as balanced a way as possible. GPs in my experience don't like to be told what they should do, but will respond to a set of symptoms or a medical history that they believe needs to be referred.
Otherwise there is also a service called Healthtap ( healthtap.com ). It's American, so possibly not appropriate for you, and there's a fee (not sure how much) but allows you to access specialist opinions from accredited doctors.
Hi, you have a right to be referred to a specialist for a decision about that as a GP cannot decide on a specialist matter - I would ask to see a different GP (if necessary change practices) and you might also contact your health authority patient liason officer for advice. Sue
I would reiterate what the other ladies say. You can change GP you could speak to your local health board. As a doctor has a right to remove a patient from there list yoyu as a patient have the right to leave and GP and go elsewhere. You could ring around local practices and see if they will take you. If they wont the health board can find you a GP. If they ask for a reason you just say breakdown of patient doctor relationship. if your unhappy with your existing doctor you have little to loose.
Good Look
Sharon
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