Ed referral issues

[lamacorn]

A month ago I finally pick up the courage to let my GP know about my very long standing ED.

I couldn't even tell her. I filled out a questionnaire I found online and emailed it to her.

She said she would refer me.

A month has passed and I have not heard anything. So I rang earlier this week to book an appointment. They didn't have any phone appointments till Friday.
She rang Friday afternoon. She hasn't made the referral because I need to sign the referral apparently.
She then said her computer was broken and she wouldn't be able to print it out until end of next week.
Someone would phone me then and I could go to the reception and sign it.

None of this sounds very promising. Does it?

Has anyone else had to sign a referral form for themselves?
And also did you have to do it in the middle of a reception area??
How long did you have to wait after your GP said they would refer you to when they actually did so?

So a month in nothing has happened. And the referral still won't be done for well over a week due to the "broken computer" - it's a fairly large surgery with 12 GPS and many admin staff. Are all the computers broken?

Why is my GP stalling? Or is she not actually going to refer me at all?

I'm so confused.
I'd love to her other experiences here of ED referral process etc.
Slightly outing here but I'm in Kent.

[bumblingalonghappily]

That's atrocious, I'm sorry. Well done for being brave enough to reach out- and I'm sorry you've had that response.

It was a bit different for me as I was classed as high priority as I was heavily pregnant when I told them, but I had started cbt within two weeks of telling my midwife.

Have you checked the website for your community eating disorders service? You can self refer directly at mine and skip the GP stage entirely- it's worth having a look. And don't give up! Good luck

[lamacorn]

Oh and she said she didn't know whether the ED service locally was actually operating due to COVid (could she not check??)
And that the wait would probably be 1 year.

I'm starting to wish I hadn't said anything at all. It's just not very promising.

Anyone else have better experiences? Or found the Gp made it all sound hopeless but the service was actually very good?

[bumblingalonghappily]

She sounds awful. See a different gp.

And the service will 100% still be running. I've had telephone consultations throughout lockdown and have been in for blood tests etc when they asked me to.

[lamacorn]

@bumblingalonghappily
Thank you. Your experience sounds very reassuring! Are you in the same part of the country or not?

I can't really see a different GP. She's very much the best one there to be honest.

Did you have to sign a form? I'm
Really confused as to why the form signing is holding things up.

[bumblingalonghappily]

Hi,

I'm south east but not Kent no. No I didn't have to sign any form. To be honest she sounds like she's underestimating the severity of EDs if she doesn't think the service will even be running and is using a printer as an excuse. She may be better for other conditions but I would really try another one in the mean time- or contact the eating disorders service directly yourself with your concerns and explaining your situation. I know it sucks but it sounds like you're going to have to be a bit pushy here. I have no idea how long I would have had to wait if I hadn't been pregnant.

[lamacorn]

I couldn't even talk to her about it. I just emailed her the questionnaire.

I don't think I can even see another GP. Well actually I can't see a GP at all. They're only doing phone appointments no face to face appointments at all.
(Nice and cheap for them). I don't get a choice at to who rings me back.

I don't know how I'd phone the local service. I don't know what I would say to them at all.

This is all so disappointing.

[lamacorn]

@bumblingalonghappily
Thank you! Thanks to you I googled the local ED service.
It turns out there are no referral forms at all!
All GP referral are done via a single phone number only. No forms at all.

So my GP has completely lied to me.

I'm such an idiot. I really trusted her as she helped me with arthritis and local rheumatology who are pretty crap.

That's the whole reason I approached her at all because I thought I could trust her.

So clearly she hasn't referred me. She isn't going to and has made up some bollocks about a form and broken printers and is clearly an untrustworthy liar. 😢

At least now I can stop waiting for her to call me and do anything for me.

[lamacorn]

Update. GP referral went through Monday. The ED service rang Tuesday.
I spoke to a nurse who asked questions and said she would write to me and someone would contact me about an assessment.
Lady rang today to book the assessment for next week.
I asked her what the assessment entailed but she didn't really know.

[bornninthe80s]

How did the assessment go @lamacorn ?

[lamacorn]

@bornninthe80s had the assessment. It's was awkward. Over the phone and in my car in a pub car park. Ended up having to move twice during the call.

Rang me back next day and offered treatment. They want me to come to the clinic to see dietician, medical monitoring doctor and initially the person who did the assessment while I wait for a permanent therapist to be assigned to me.
I'm going next week. Not sure what to expect or what to think.
I wasn't given any information about the therapy offered. Or what any of it will entail really.
I tried to cancel the appointment. Or rather I did cancel the appointment but they kept ringing back until I agreed to go.