I've received a two week wait referral with no explanation

[summerin69]

Has anyone had the experience of being referred to a 2 week wait appointment at an outpatients AFTER having tests (MRI etc), rather than being referred directly to a specialist? Wouldn't it be the usual way to go to the 2 week wait clinic first and then have the tests?

Background:
In November I went to my GP with a sore throat which I'd had for 6 weeks. The GP told me there was a 6 month wait for an ENT appointment so I chose to have a private ENT appointment, just to have the initial tests. I worry about health and knew paying for it would give me peace of mind.

The ENT specialist put a camera down my nose and throat - and said that I had globus pharyngea? caused by stress but apart from that he could see nothing to worry about, but just to be sure he sent me for a chest X-ray, barium swallow and MRI. I had these on the NHS before Christmas. I felt like a bit of a fraud to be honest but it was good to get everything checked.

The barium swallow technician also told me he could see nothing to worry about, though I'd had to wait for the proper report, but basically don't worry.

I went to my GP last week for an unrelated issue and asked whether the results had come in yet - and she said No. Our postal service has been awful so everyone is getting late results. I joked, I guess if it was urgent I would have heard something. The tests were mid-December so I assumed if anything suspect had been detected I would have been notified straight away.

Today I got an email asking me to attend an urgent 2 week wait referral at my local hospital. It's from the oncology department and it relates to ENT.

Cue: pounding heart and feeling really anxious.

There's no explanation of why I need this and it's too late to call now. I have been feeling really good, really healthy. The only test where I wasn't immediately given the all clear was the MRI which was looking at my thyroid specifically.

I know it's stupid to guess - but is it normal to be sent to a 2 week wait clinic after having all the tests? Wouldn't I be referred immediately to a specialist if something was wrong?

I wonder if maybe this is because of my initial visit to my GP with my sore throat - and it went through as a normal NHS referral?

Anyone else had this experience of being sent to a 2 week wait appointment after having tests?

I will call in the morning - but trying to calm myself down.

OP its possible the MRI showed a nodule on your thyroid- this would need to be checked out but even sinister thyroid lumps are (in the scheme of things) straightforward and effectively treated.
Or- and I suspect more likely- your gp put a tww referral in for your original sore throat back in December and its only just been allocated. Xx

Thank you @Tethersend01 That's what I'm wondering - that my GP put a referral in originally. My MRI was on 13th November and the barium swallow on 9th December. Surely if they had found something I would have been referred a lot sooner? Or are waiting times that bad - but then that would make a complete nonsense of the 2-week wait notice! Just hoping it's an admin mistake.

When is your appointment? How long do you have to wait to find out?

It’s a good thing really - hopefully it’s nothing that they have to confirm is nothing but if it is something it increases the chances of catching it early. I’m a mammographer and the vast majority of our 2ww are cysts or other benign conditions - and the vast majority of those could be discounted on clinical presentation but the point is we want to be absolutely sure so everything and anything vaguely suspicious is checked properly (and rightly so). 2ww is one of the areas the nhs actually really excels in and gets no real credit for. Easy for me to say but think of it as further tests rather than indicative of anything sinister.

That's just it though. I saw my GP in November. I had the MRI and barium swallow in Nov/Dec - so this isn't a 2 week wait - more like a 2 month wait! I don't get it. I'm wondering if it's just a mix up. I will call tomorrow and hopefully get it sorted. It's for ENT not breast issue.

I got called back after MRI imaging on my neck to do a brain scan. Sodding terrifying. Said they'd seen something on my pituitary gland but needed to look at it rather than to the edge of a neck image.

So upsetting waiting thinking the worst. All fine in the end. Best they check stuff out. Better not to worry as its very likely to be nothing to worry about. [Flowers]

I hope you can clarify in the morning , how stressful !
If they have found anything on your thyroid though, don’t worry. Nodules are fairly common, and even thyroid cancer is very curable.

I suspect your dipping in and out of private and NHS is the big factor here. One triggers this, the other triggers that. You don't know which is which. Without your appointment booking notes, it's impossible to work out what's happened.

But you're fortunate that your ability to pay privately has skipped the NHS queue.

My guess would be that something showed up on your thyroid, a nodule or cyst or swelling. This would trigger 2 week referral but they are usually benign. Maybe there was a delay in consultant checking your scans. A thyroid lump could be causing globus sensation too. Let us know how you get on.

Hi, I just wondered what the outcome was as going through similar? X