Diagnosis appointment dilemas - Cumbria

Hi everybody. I am a 62 year old male who until recently just wondered why everything in life was so very difficult for me. About a year ago I started to wonder if I might be on the autism spectrum and about six months ago took the online aspergers test which came out at 34. Learning that there was now a legal duty to accomodate adults seeking diagnosis I went to my GP and asked for a referral. That was at the turn of the year. Then a few weeks ago I was given an appointment date which I confirmed with them by telephone. The upshot is that when I turned up for the appointment yesterday I was then told it had been cancelled.

   The previous evening at about 6.30 I noticed my phone had a message on it timed at about 11 that day asking me to phone a certain number about my appointment but not saying what it was about. As the appointment the following day was for 9.15 in the morning I was unable to discover (though I tried) by telephone before I went out for the appointment what it was about. However when I got there they told me that I had been told that the appointment was cancelled. I was absolutely furious - but managed to avoid being less than polite with the woman who talked to me who I believe was only a receptionist.

   This is the day after and I am still furious, as try as I might to rationalise the events it looks to me as though I may be being given the 'run-around' to put me off. I have been told that I should receive a telephone call on Thursday about this but so far have received no formal apology or explanation.

    Has anybody else out there (particularly from Cumbria) received similar treatment? I do appreciate that the nhs is in particularly difficult times and that it is not uncommon for people requiring serious surgery to have appointments cancelled. However I would rather have to wait longer for a real appointment than to be treated like this and would have hoped that mental health services would have appreciated that such behaviour on their part would cause a lot of anger and upset.

 

Parents
  • I too find it more difficult to tolerate being messed around as I get older. I wonder why a culture has been allowed to develop where inefficiency and discourtesy are regarded as alright. If you complain, you get indifference in response. However, Autismtwo makes a good point - if you get stressed, it is you who suffer. I stomp away angry because I cannot help it, then try to give myself something worthwhile to think about, rather than waste my time, which has value.

Reply
  • I too find it more difficult to tolerate being messed around as I get older. I wonder why a culture has been allowed to develop where inefficiency and discourtesy are regarded as alright. If you complain, you get indifference in response. However, Autismtwo makes a good point - if you get stressed, it is you who suffer. I stomp away angry because I cannot help it, then try to give myself something worthwhile to think about, rather than waste my time, which has value.

Children
No Data