Gastric Bypass surgery on the NHS

[Hopeful_Meg]

I saw her last weds, she said she'd try and get back to me next week so hopefully I'll hear something this week.

Fingers crossed for you sweetie!! X

 

[Parsnip]

Thanks hun. Hope we both here something soon x

 

[jj87]

I chased mine up. got an appointment for June then kept calling and got a cancellation appointment and that was last week. next appointment now is April. I'm hopeful I will get a cancellation again. I got reffered 6th January

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

I chased mine up. got an appointment for June then kept calling and got a cancellation appointment and that was last week. next appointment now is April. I'm hopeful I will get a cancellation again. I got reffered 6th January

Wow, that's amazing! Who did you follow it up with? The hospital? Was your referal letter like mine? Do you have to do tier 3? Good luck on getting a cancellation!! X

 

[jj87]

I called the bookings team in the hospital who deal with all appointments. I checked to see if I had been put on the system as they would know as that department generates the letters onces on the system was able to chase it up about cancellations. I've not seen your letter sorry. thanks and good luck also x

 

[jj87]

unsure if I will need to do tier 3. completely forgot to ask. unlikely I think. bloody hope not

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

I called the bookings team in the hospital who deal with all appointments. I checked to see if I had been put on the system as they would know as that department generates the letters onces on the system was able to chase it up about cancellations. I've not seen your letter sorry. thanks and good luck also x

Thank you for the info, I'll call the hospital to check if theyve received it! This was my letter, just wondering if because it doesn't mention tier 3 I won't have to do it.. no idea but fingers crossed haha!

 

[jj87]

I never saw my referral letter but I know all the information you have written down was also what was put on mine. mine was also both faxed and emailed over..

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

Hey guys, I called the hospital appointments team yesterday who said they haven't received my referral yet so they gave me a number of the surgeons secretary/bariatric co-ordinator or something. I tried calling them 3 times yesterday during the day and no one answered. I called my GP surgery just now and they gave me the same number for the hospitals appointment team to contact. Do I call the hospitals appointments team again or should I wait a little while? I did try contacting the secretarys number again today but still no answer. I would so hate for my referral to get lost and no one to realise! Sorry if i'm waffling!

 

[starryeyed]

The number of referrals they get is huge - give it a few more days.

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

The number of referrals they get is huge - give it a few more days.

Okay, I will do! Shall I just call them next week then?

 

[starryeyed]

Okay, I will do! Shall I just call them next week then?

You can but it could be up to a month before you're in the system

 

[jj87]

I managed to get hold of the secerty who found my referral and put it on the system for me. I had explained that I had been chasing it up etc.

Hey guys, I called the hospital appointments team yesterday who said they haven't received my referral yet so they gave me a number of the surgeons secretary/bariatric co-ordinator or something. I tried calling them 3 times yesterday during the day and no one answered. I called my GP surgery just now and they gave me the same number for the hospitals appointment team to contact. Do I call the hospitals appointments team again or should I wait a little while? I did try contacting the secretarys number again today but still no answer. I would so hate for my referral to get lost and no one to realise! Sorry if i'm waffling!

 

[chunkyMunky25]

Hey guys, I went in and got a copy of my referral letter from the GP today. Would weight management still be a part of this if it says referal to surgery?/what's the likely outcome? Also, is this what a normal referral letter looks like?? Sorry if it seems like I'm going in circles, driving myself crazy with the waiting haha!

I work for the referral office for my local hospital trust. this looks like a normal referral letter and even though it is asking for surgery you still generally need to attend weight management before being considered for surgery. however every area and each case can be different.

 

[prmdc098]

I have just had my referral done from my dietician to the surgery team as I've lost 10% of my weight therefore hopefully will be considered, the dietician said the turn around in NHS Tayside is fast as there is not many patients wanting surgery

 

[Almondenco]

Hi there!

I'm not very far into my journey at all (I was referred at the beginning of November 2016) and was told I'd receive an appointment within 8 weeks. My GP referred me directly to the general surgery department (my BMI is below 50) of a hospital that doesn't even perform Bariatric Surgery

I wouldn't look too deeply into the wording of your referral letter; chances are your GP might not know the process, what 'Tier 3' weight management is or even which hospital to refer you to (!). I'm probably bias, but I think that there is more helpful information on this forum than with your GP as they deal with a whole range of referrals and don't look too far into the intricacies of each process. I'm sure when the hospital Bariatric Team receive your referral, they will know exactly what to do

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

I have just had my referral done from my dietician to the surgery team as I've lost 10% of my weight therefore hopefully will be considered, the dietician said the turn around in NHS Tayside is fast as there is not many patients wanting surgery

Congrats on losing the 10%!! Oh that's brill, hopefully you won't be waiting too long for the next stage then! Good luck x

 

[Hopeful_Meg]

Hi there!

I'm not very far into my journey at all (I was referred at the beginning of November 2016) and was told I'd receive an appointment within 8 weeks. My GP referred me directly to the general surgery department (my BMI is below 50) of a hospital that doesn't even perform Bariatric Surgery

I wouldn't look too deeply into the wording of your referral letter; chances are your GP might not know the process, what 'Tier 3' weight management is or even which hospital to refer you to (!). I'm probably bias, but I think that there is more helpful information on this forum than with your GP as they deal with a whole range of referrals and don't look too far into the intricacies of each process. I'm sure when the hospital Bariatric Team receive your referral, they will know exactly what to do

Why do GP's sound so unaware of what to do? They get paid a fortune yet fail to send a simple referral to a certain department! (I am sorry for the hate, I know a lot of doctors/their receptionists are over worked, just seems so silly that a simple 5 second search to check they're sending it to the right place is being avoided) What's happened to your referral now?x

 

[SAM55]

Why do GP's sound so unaware of what to do? They get paid a fortune yet fail to send a simple referral to a certain department! (I am sorry for the hate, I know a lot of doctors/their receptionists are over worked, just seems so silly that a simple 5 second search to check they're sending it to the right place is being avoided) What's happened to your referral now?x

Possibly because they have never done it before. I live in a rural area and only the 4th WLS the surgery of 12 GP's has had. It isn't done in my area due to size of hospital, so it has to be referred out of area, so they have to find out which area is doing it. Prior to my CCG agreeing to fund the surgery, it has not been available for years as my PCT wouldn't fund it. But, yes. Also some GP's do need to keep themselves more aware.

 

[Almondenco]

Why do GP's sound so unaware of what to do? They get paid a fortune yet fail to send a simple referral to a certain department! (I am sorry for the hate, I know a lot of doctors/their receptionists are over worked, just seems so silly that a simple 5 second search to check they're sending it to the right place is being avoided) What's happened to your referral now?x

After trying to get an answer from my GP practice for the last two weeks, they finally told me that it was referred to a different hospital on the day it was rejected (in December). I'm slightly annoyed that they didn't let me know (I found out from chasing the hospital myself) but at the end of the day I'm just grateful that it's now in the right place!