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.