GP refusing me the Right to Choose

Hi there. I'm so frustrated and annoyed. My GP surgery will not allow me the Right to Choose for an autism assessment for myself. I even complained formally to them, but they won't budge. They say their clinical decision overrides my RTC. They have said private companies don't fully meet NICE guidelines and offer a full autism pathway, so I am now on the NHS waiting list which will take years.

Has anyone else experienced this? I really don't know what (if anything) to do next. Cryxxxx

  • Hi and welcome to the community.

    I'm sorry to hear of your difficulties in getting an RTC referral for an autism assessment. For those who meet the clinical requirements for the referral, this is a legal right. As your GP should also be aware, referrals via RTC can't be made to just any provider. Instead, they must already be providing autism assessments somewhere within England under an NHS commissioning contract.

    In practice, though, I have to say it certainly does seem to be true that ongoing support (ie beyond the point of diagnosis) might not be offered as seamlessly as it should be - or sometimes even at all - when using RTC compared with staying within the NHS pathway from the outset. So I feel like I can perhaps understand if their concern is that you receive (and maybe even need?) the best possible overall diagnostic and support experience.

    In my case, for example, only one of the several follow-up actions that were recommended for my GP within my diagnostic report was actioned automatically. I initiated another myself and, just over a year later, I'm about to follow up myself with my GP on the others. I'm concerned that one or more further waiting lists could be involved!

    There are some useful FAQs about RTC here: 

    https://bswtogether.org.uk/medicines/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2024/01/right-to-choose-faqs-november-2023.pdf

    The NAS also offers excellent advice about next steps that you can take, depending on how you'd prefer to move forward:

    NAS - Can I get a second opinion about a referral or make a complaint?

    This section of a related article also explains how you can escalate your complaint beyond your GP's practice and includes details of PALS (Patient Advice and Liaison Service), who might be able to advise and support you:

    NAS - What can I do if formal support is not offered or is not enough > Health services

  • That sounds very frustrating. I'm sorry.

    We don't have Right to Choose where I Iive, but I got my adult autism assessment through the NHS and expected it to take years but it was done in a matter of months. 

    I think mine was fast tracked because I asked for a referral through the mental health team at my surgery. I had been seen by them numerous times before, so they had evidence that it (my potential autism) was significantly affecting my life in a negative way.