The right to choose option for assessment

Great thank you! 

Great thank you! 

Hello DaughteroftheKing 

The process I went through was right to choose and I went with Psychiatry UK however the mental health nurse did my referral after filling out the AQ-10 form and sent my referral off to psychiatry UK without asking me if it was them I wanted to use. I am assuming it was perhaps default to use Psychiatry UK from my part of England? You will need to follow the guidance in the text messages sent to you from Psychiatry UK and a form of photographic ID if you choose to use them. The text will explain that an email has been sent to you with instructions on what to do next. This would be make an account with them for purposes of communicating and reading any notes added to your file. You should then receive further texts as some point asking you to book an assessment with a professional of your choosing but you’ll have to pick from an available time slot to book in for the video call assessment. I think I used Skype for mine? Not too down with the IT side of things anymore. 

Edit: took around 3 months from referral to assessment.

DaughteroftheKing said:

AS long as I can be referred from anywhere in UK

Just to clarify, Right to Choose is currently only available for patients who live in England, rather than in any of the UK’s other countries. (My original reply refers).

This does, of course, include Hampshire - so you would be perfectly fine. 

Thank you, you too

AS long as I can be referred from anywhere in UK - which it appears to be. I'm in Hampshire so the other stuff doesn't apply to me, but I am keen to try the Psychiatry UK too

Ah ok better than two years haha thank you 

Elfilis said:

I believe the wait time might not be as bad but I’m not too sure about it.

As I mentioned earlier, their waiting time is currently three months from referral.

Hi there. I went with right to choose and I got with psych uk but I did have to wait a long time but I believe the wait time might not be as bad but I’m not too sure about it. I was meant to have one done locally but they kept being rude and fobbing me off so I thought it was worth the extra wait time to go with psych uk as I was able to get a nice psychiatrist then. Hope all works out for you. Stay blessed  

Thanks, that's great. 

You're most welcome!

DaughteroftheKing said:

I'm just curious if they have experience diagnosing women

I'm sure they have plenty of experience of this - but perhaps you might prefer to call and ask them directly, so that they can address your concerns. Their number is 0330 124 1980. So you can check it's legitimate, it's from here:

Psychiatry UK - Contact us

Just google checked the Owl centre and it says the waitlist is 5yrs!!!! 

Wow, thanks. That's great. My doc required a AQ 10 form to refer me anyway. 

Psychiatry UK sounds good since if I move in the meantime it would just be a change of address/GP situation. The one I'm referred to now is The Owl centre also doing the assessment online primarily. I did contact them a while ago and they just said I was still on the waiting list and they'd contact me when I got to the top of the list. I'll pray on it and think on it. 

I'm just curious if they have experience diagnosing women... I've heard horror stories of women being told they have friends so they are not autistic etc. 

As you likely know, but I'll just quickly explain for others who find your thread over time:

• If you live in England, then you can ask your GP to re-refer you using the Right to Choose pathway (RTC). 
• In England (only), this enables access to certain, approved, private autism assessment providers who typically have much shorter waiting lists than the NHS, but with your referral and assessment still fully funded by the NHS. 

Getting back to your questions, you do need to ask your GP, and you may need to complete a screening questionnaire again.

You don't need a reason - this is your legal right and you're just choosing to exercise it. That being said, avoiding a longer waiting time is a very good reason.

For example, if you were to choose Psychiatry UK, their process is explained here. You can prepare the required materials - an AQ-10 form and accompanying letter - and use them to request the re-referral:

Psychiatry UK - Right to Choose Autism Assessments > How to apply

Their website advises that their waiting time for adult RTC assessments is currently just three months.

More information is available here:

NAS - How to request an autism assessment

There's a list of RTC providers for autism at the bottom of this page, for example:

NHS Sussex - NHS Right to Choose: for Autism and ADHD Assessment