Hi, Recently Referred. Waiting list Question. :)

My GP said the waiting list "was about two years, but that was before the pandemic - it will pobably be a lot longer, now." 

I went private. But be careful doing that - there are a lot of convincing-sounding people who just don't cut it with other professionals.  If you need a diagnosis (say for a PIP assessment or something) you could pay a lot of money and then find it isn't accepted. 

I didn't need all that ... but I did want to actually believe the result, one way or the other. I wasn't interested in finding someone who would tell me what they thought I wanted to hear.  I was only interested in the truth.

MY GP offered to vet a private service but wouldn't recommend one. 

The service I chose actually used a Consultant Psychiatrist who worked for both the NHS and big private health companies, and there was a bucket-load of information about him online. 

Despite that, since she offered, I did ask the GP, who said 'fine'. 

I booked to have an assessment with him, and I had it done - including results - within a couple of months.   

I've learnt, since, that if I'd gone through the NHS, the waiting list would, indeed, have been "measured in years", and I probably wouldn't have had it done by "quite such an exalted figure".  

It was eye-wateringly expensive but the guy definitely had zero interest in anything but an evidence-led conclusion, and I have confidence in the results, which is what matters, to me.   

When I looked into this recently, I asked the private doctor I chose what their qualifications and experience were, then looked them up on line, and also checked that they were in professional good standing. Similar to PersonAnon, I was worried about getting someone unsatisfactory. I felt awkward asking the question, but if you're paying for the service, it seems reasonable.

It is worrying to check these things oneself though, not knowing much about medical qualifications, or what one should expect of a doctor in that type of practice.

When I looked into this recently, I asked the private doctor I chose what their qualifications and experience were, then looked them up on line, and also checked that they were in professional good standing. Similar to PersonAnon, I was worried about getting someone unsatisfactory. I felt awkward asking the question, but if you're paying for the service, it seems reasonable.

It is worrying to check these things oneself though, not knowing much about medical qualifications, or what one should expect of a doctor in that type of practice.

Most clinicians offering private assessments also work for the NHS. Mine was undertaken by a consultant psychiatrist who was the lead clinician in an NHS acute psychiatric facility, who also specialised in adult autism.