how long have you waited for referrals? NHS

[Darren1]

Hi people

Throughout all my health anxieties the worst part has always been waiting for referral appointments - I always seem to get pretty bad luck and end up waiting ages.

My current stomach issue I first went to the GP in March and my appt isnt until the end of June with a consultant. I actually can't believe how the time has passed but today I am really feeling the wait.

How do you cope? How long have you ever waited for and how did you find it?

darren x

[Humly]

I used to have private health cover through a previous job so sometimes I was able to get a really quick referral to a consultant. However, sometimes it still took ages. Once I had a really tickly throat and was coughing for ages and I had to go through all the stages, firstly the wait and see if it gets better, then try an inhaler, then chest xray and then finally referral to consultant. This must have taken 3 months or more and that was with private insurance! I think it depends what you are concerned about and whether the doc thinks its worth investigating. Its horrible having to wait and I sympathise with you. I could do with winning the lottery then I could pay for everything and get anything sorted out as soon as!

[yenool]

I recently had a bone scan done that came through quite quickly, consultant referred me in mid March and the scan was done in late April.

I've not had any hospital referrals for a couple of years, but the last one I think I had to wait maybe 2 months to see a pain management specialist.

To be honest if it isn't marked as urgent I don't think 2/3 months is that bad. Clearly it would be nice to see the specialist sooner but NHS specialist time/resources are so limited they have to prioritise.

I tend to just forget about appointments and stuff until the few days before hand.... only then I will get anxiety about it. I try and box these things off by saying "That is the future and I will worry about that when the time comes", rather than excessively thinking about what might/could/should happen. Of course doing this is easier said than done...