waiting time to see a peadiatrician?

[duende]

we have just been referred urgently to see a paed with my DS. (suspected reflux and/or lactose intolerance)
has anyone got an idea what the waiting times are like? I'm desperate to get help for him, he struggles to feed again and screams for hours

Have you called the department to ask if they know when it will be? Also double check that the GP has faxed over the details in case they haven't yet. I'd get onto it today and try to get some answers otherwise you'll be worrying all w/e.

Have you been advised how to feed to reduce reflux? How old is your DS - are you BF or FF?

Max wait time is 16 weeks. Wish I could be more specific, but it depends on a lot of things. We had an urgent referral when ds2 was little, it took 6 weeks, but that was 5 years ago.

urgent referrals are normally seen far quicker (like within a matter of weeks)

are you sure the referral was urgent because doctors tend to use the urgent referral sparingly (not that I'm doubting you but just checking because it will make a big difference to when you get seen)

it also depends what type of paed and how busy they are. The referral to the paed gastro took about 12 weeks, the normal referral to the allergy paed took about 4 months.

oh my god! 12 weeks? 16 weeks? I thought that an urgent referral to see an 11 week old baby who struggles to feed would mean we'd be seen within a week or two. just shows how naive I am.
luciemule, yes, we know in theory what to do to make him a bit more comfortable. he is also on omeprazole for reflux and it does make the feeds a bit easier but he still screams a lot. today in total for 10 hours. had two naps of 20 minutes each and is still awake now. I feel like I'm close to losing my mind

foxinsocks, the GP actually said to me twice - "I am doing an urgent referral for him". I hope this is what she's done.

i have been surpirsed. soph saw allergyu specilaist with 6 weeks (urgent referral), which seemed like an age to me, but was quite quick.

also just had her referral through for orthapedics and that is within 4 weeks of us seeing the GP to see if we needed to be referred.

we are in London so it may be different

those referrals weren't urgent ones (though the gastro one was for a lump so was marked higher than standard but less than urgent! not sure what that's called!). Would hope urgent would mean you'd be seen within a month!

we have choose and book now though (the online booking system) so the last time we had a standard referral, we could choose where to go so could choose a hospital with a short waiting time!

duende - my dd (feeding problems, weight loss) saw a paed same day but it did involve being admitted to the children's ward. It depends how desperate you are. 10 hours full on screaming sounds grim for you both.

If it is an urgent referral then it could happen quite quickly.
You could phone the paediatric outpatients secretary in a few days (to give time for them to have received the referral) and ask what the waiting times usually are. If it seems too long then you could emphasise how keen you are to be seen, and that you would be happy to be slotted in a short notice.

thanks for replying everyone. I will ring our surgery on Mon to make sure it's been sent off and find out where to ring to chase it up. if I knew that motherhood was going to be that stressful, I don't think I'd ever decide to get pregnant...

duende, I was also seen same day. Find out if there is an assessment clinic at your hospital. Ours is called "Sophie's place"