To be pissed off with the doctors?

[CrohnicallyAnxious]

To cut a long story short, I asked for a psych referral back in August. My GP refused, saying that he didn't think it would be of benefit. By the start of October my mental health had deteriorated quite a lot, so I asked for the referral again, and this time he agreed.

Since then I have heard nothing. I phoned and spoke to the doctor at the end of October, and he assured me the referral had gone through, but that they were very busy and my case wasn't a priority. I said I understood and agreed to wait till they got in touch.

I've since registered with a new GP and asked them to check up on the referral as I didn't want it to get lost in the system, if they sent it to my old GP and they didn't forward it.

New GP has just phoned to say they've chased it up but the referral was never done.

I'm absolutely fuming, basically I've waited 2 months (and declined other offers of help) for nothing. I know that things sometimes get missed or forgotten about, but he told me that it had already been done. AIBU to be this angry, am I just overreacting because of my MH problems? Or is this completely unacceptable in anyone's book?

[PoirotsMoustache]

YANBU. Your GP should not have told you the referral had been done if it hadn't.
I would write and complain, personally.

[wheresthelight]

definitely unacceptable and I would be making an appointment with the practice manager at your old Gp's and logging a formal complaint.

[CrohnicallyAnxious]

Thank you. I don't know whether to make a formal complaint or not- I mean I feel it needs addressing but don't know if making a complaint would actually make me feel worse by focussing attention on it iykwim. I have a tendency to overthink things and dwell on them when maybe I'm better off just forgetting it, so don't know what to do for the best here.

It's a shame because I really liked this doctor and trusted him, he's the only one that's listened to me over a couple of health concerns (which turned out to be legitimate concerns that shouldn't have been dismissed by the other doctors) so now I feel doubly betrayed.

[wheresthelight]

Think about it the other way, what if someone had needed a referral who was borderline suicidal and the gp did the same to them! I know it's scary but they need pulling up on it.

[milkpudding]

In my area referrals for outpatient psych are faxed over, so there is unfortunately scope for a referral to go missing.

So the GP you liked may have believed he sent it, but his administrator, or the psych's administrator, or the fax, lost it.

Please do complain as everyone except the NHS stopped using faxes for anything important years ago.

If your new GP mentions the delay in your referral hopefully psych will do what they can to see you sooner.