Skip to main content
Close Button
Donate
  • Replies 5 replies
  • Subscribers 101 subscribers
  • Views 4228 views
  • Users 0 members are here
Options
Related
Hints and tips
  • To quote someone's message, first select/highlight the relevant text, and then use the Quote button that appears
  • To "mention" someone, type @ followed by the start of the forum name, and choose from the list; that person will get a notification of being mentioned

Stick with NHS diagnosis waiting list or go private?

LimaMikeSquared
over 6 years ago

Hi Everyone, 

I live in Suffolk so I am under the NSFT

I saw my GP back in mid-August about getting a diagnosis for ASD. It took about a month to see the health adviser and she made a referral to the Access Team of the NSFT in mid September. After a number of weeks later (around Halloween) I received a phone call asking if I was suicidal (I'm not), and that I should receive a letter or phone call within a few weeks with a date for my first appointment with the next team. Come the beginning of February I hadn't heard anything at all so I rang the Access Team to see what had happened and they said my referral had been passed onto the next team, but she didn't say it was the autism team she gave a different team name - which I now can't remember. She said she would contact them and tell them I am still interested in having a diagnosis and they would get in touch to confirm the referral within a week or so. Nearly another month on and I still haven't heard. 

I understand there is a long wait list for adults but it has been over six months and my referral hasn't even reached the autism diagnosis team yet it is still in the "triage" stage departments (not sure what else to call them). Is it unreasonable to expect this stage to have happened by now? 

The thing is I do have the money for a private assessment. Would this be better? I know it would be quicker but I have heard some services will only honour a NHS diagnosis and not a private one? Is this true?

Thanks

J

Parents
  • over 6 years ago

    I was finally diagnosed by the NHS in December 2017, the whole process from visiting my GP and requesting as assessment took 14 months start to finish. I waited 7 months after seeing my GP before the assessment procedure started. My assessment was spread across 3 sessions of one hour each and the gap between the first and second of these was 4 months! I then had another 3 month wait after the final session for the psychiatrist to weigh up the results of these sessions and make a diagnosis. I found the waiting very stressful and ended up finding a private therapist with experience of autistic clients to help me through all this, but I appreciate not everyone has that as an option.

    Hope yours doesnt take as long!

Reply
  • over 6 years ago

    I was finally diagnosed by the NHS in December 2017, the whole process from visiting my GP and requesting as assessment took 14 months start to finish. I waited 7 months after seeing my GP before the assessment procedure started. My assessment was spread across 3 sessions of one hour each and the gap between the first and second of these was 4 months! I then had another 3 month wait after the final session for the psychiatrist to weigh up the results of these sessions and make a diagnosis. I found the waiting very stressful and ended up finding a private therapist with experience of autistic clients to help me through all this, but I appreciate not everyone has that as an option.

    Hope yours doesnt take as long!

Children
No Data