Tuesday 23 March 2010

I Arrive at the Bottom of the Helter Skelter

Before Tuesday morning last week I believed:

1. Three weeks previously I had been referred for treatment at a specialist centre, and any day now would receive an appointment letter.

2. The appointment for an assessment would be quite soon, as I’d been told that the treatment was expected to start in 2-3 months time.

So I’d already waited about a quarter to a third of the waiting time, until start of treatment. My life is substantially restricted, so it still seemed like a long while to wait, but I felt it was manageable.

By the Tuesday afternoon I knew:

1. The referral paperwork had been lost in the CMHT email system, before it was sent off.

2. The specialist centre still knew nothing of me, so I was definitely not on the waiting list.

3. The waiting list for an initial appointment was 2-3 months.

In light of this, along with a bit of investigation on the internet, I estimate that after the initial appointment, it will be about an 8-12 month wait to start treatment.

Ummm! So a bit of a difference between what I had previously been led to believe, and the facts. Give you one guess how I was feeling! Gutted. So gutted, I am not able to convey my feelings in words.

I still do not know how I will cope with waiting another year.

5 comments:

  1. I went through something similar. Once I had my initial assessment I felt better about having to wait because I knew the therapist was going to take me on and I knew I liked her, so it would be worth the wait, and it was. So hang in there. But also do what you can to make sure that referal has definitely gone through. Hang in there.

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  2. Rosie

    Thank you very much for the encouragement - it means so much to me.

    Take care.

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  3. :( How gutting is that? Is there anything additional you can do whilst waiting?
    Hang in there
    Lesley

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  4. How frustrating. Where are you being referred to?

    Let us know how it goes.

    B xxxx

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  5. Hi Bellsie

    Thank you for coming by and sorry that I have not replied sooner. My referral is for the Anxiety Disorders Residential Unit at Bethlem Hospital (attached to Maudsley).

    Take care

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