GP forgot to refer dc for allergy testing.

[Sarah24x]

Hi all,
Looking for some advice. Ds (21 months) first saw the dietician just over a year ago for CMPA and suspected egg allergy. Whenever I try stage 1 of the milk bladder, he gets eczema patches and loose stools.

He last saw the dietician last June who said he’d be referred to paediatrics for allergy testing.

Since then, he’s been referred to ENT for recurrent tonsillitis and also paediatrics by the ENT consultant for immunology panel.

He’s been ill often so the allergy test went to the back of my mind and I presumed it would be a long wait. A few weeks ago, I decided to ring up the paediatrics to see if they had an update on the allergy testing as I hadn’t heard anything. The lady said no referral was showing for allergy testing and booked him in for another dietician appointment.

Took him there this morning and she told me she’d wrote to the GP in June to have him referred for allergy testing and they meant have referred him. 😩

I rang the GP surgery just before and the receptionist confirmed the letter had been received from the dietician but no referral made. She said they’re going to look into it.

I’m feeling really pissed off about it and wondering when they ring back, should I request he’s placed on the waiting list in the queue space he should have been had he been correctly referred last summer? Not sure if that’s possible or will he be put at the back of the queue?

Overall they’re a good GP surgery and I understand mistakes happen. Any advice appreciated!

I'm really sorry your going through this.
I don't think you'll be put in the queue where dc would have been, in my experience they just get put to the bottom.
What I would do is follow up with gp to make sure dc has been refered, once you know its happened leave it a couple of weeks and ring the allergy secretaries, explain what happened and say your happy to take a short notice appointment. Speaking to them direct often helps.
For future reference (as a mum of 3 adults/older teens all with varying medical needs) when someone tells you they are doing something pop it in your calendar to chase up a few weeks after. You shouldn't have to but go in thinking everyone is incompetent and follow everything up.
I'd also put in writing to the practice manager exactly what has happened and ask how they plan to rectify/prevent this from happening again.
Keep records of everything to reference back to.

OP, I would be livid if this happened to us. As it was, we had an 8 month wait for allergy testing when DD was little, and it was hugely detrimental.

I expect you'll get push back about being put in the spot he should have been in, as the GP will say their hands are tied and can't influence the hospital, and the hospital will say it's nothing to do with them, it's the GP's fault and their hands are tied.

So what you need to do if both do say that, is to make a complaint to the ICB, who oversee both, explain the cock-up, and that the resulting detriment to your DC is unacceptable. Ask them what they're going to do to put matters right. As they oversee both, and are meant to commission appropriate services, they are in the position to sort this. Be assertive!!