Published on 12, July, 2020
Hi all, does anyone know roughly how long it might take from when my GP referred me to when I hear something? Am I correct in assuming that there should be some kind of letter acknowledging the referral at some point? I know I'm probably being a bit impatient seeing as according to the receptionist at the GP surgery my referral was sent on the 18th of Jan but I have others (Shaw Trust - I've been on the Work and Health Programme since March 2018 and the ASD penny only dropped for me in November after struggling all year) that are encouraging me to keep chasing up at my GP where I am and I really don't want to make a nuisance of myself. I was hoping people might share how long they had to wait as an adult before they had some kind of initial confirmation after their GP had sent their referral as I'm finding this being in limbo stage quite difficult.
Thanks for reading
It took me around two years to go through the process, including conversations between my GP and the regional health authority around funding for me to go to another health authority for the tests.
In the end they sent me, but it took a long time, some of which was chasing down blind alleys. I was treated for A, proved unnecessary and unhelpful, tested for B, proved not to be me, but the test was performed by a doctor from the Aspergers clinic and she asked for me to be referred to her clinic, which helped a lot with the funding.
There was a lot of time spent with nothing much happening so I just got on with life.
In terms of trying to find out without being a nuisance I think writing politely to your GP after 6-8 weeks to ask if there's any progress would be proportionate and reasonable, and if you're told something may take 3-4 months then wait a couple of weeks longer than 4 months. It can be hard waiting like that but things will work through the system eventually.