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Referrals Hi everyone,
I was referred to the Genetics Clinic 8 months ago and I am still waiting to get an appointment.
I rang to find out what was going on and was quite shocked to find out: it appears that anyone referred to genetics by their GP becomes a Government statistic and their guideline is that they must be seen within 3 months! Existing Cancer patients however, are not subject to any guidline. Therefore they are not deemed a priority and so are shuffled down the pile by the weight of GP referrals.
Is it me or is there something fundamentally wrong with this? If a consultant sees fit to refer you to a Genetisist then they must believe there to be a high risk, so why are GP referrals(no offense, but not cancer specialists) given priority?
I know this seems like a bit of a rant - but frankley it p#-at-£es me off!
Brian
Hi Brian I agree entirely with Helen - make a fuss and don\'t stop bothering them until you get an answer. This really isn\'t good enough and you\'re absolutely entitled to feel p**d off.
I was referred by my oncologist. and didn\'t hear from the clinic for a few months - then I rang them and explained my worries and they got me an appointment really quickly.
Good luck & let us know how you get on.
Cheers
Sue
Hi Brian I\'m really sorry to hear of whats happening with you, and I can understand your worry. I\'m not an expert but wondered is your genetic unit part of a hospital? if so you could ask to speak to their PALS department who would try to help you and liase between you and the genetic department. You could just ring the main hospital number and ask to be put through to the PALS Dept. I hope that helps..
I was initially referred about 12 years ago and we did a family tree, since then my auntie developed breast cancer and she gave a blood sample. I only found out last year that she had BRCA2, then my cousin and myself got tested to find that we were both positive in august last year.
Good luck, I hope that you manage to get an appointment soon.
Lynne
Got an appointment....... ......in JULY. Oh well only another couple of months to wait.
Thanks for the spur on.