NHS Choose & Book system. I'm confused.

[yorkiegal]

My gp agreed last week to refer me for WLS and today I received a letter from my gp surgery with the NHS choose & book appointment request form attached. It only gave me the choice of one hospital, York, anyway but never mind.

So I rang the call centre and the man said he'd made me a 'provisional appointment' for 12th March with York Bariatric Service Outpatients Dept. Then he read from what appeared to be a script.

He said I might have to have other tests first which might result in the appointment being changed, but this wasn't a reflection on the seriousness of my condition. Then he said the dept would assess my request for an appointment. That's the bit I'm confused about.

Does this mean the bariatric dept will receive my request and look at it in regards to funding first? So they might cancel it before I've even been to see the first person? Is this appointment with a surgeon or someone else?

I'm not too good on the phone, and just meekly said ok rather than ask any questions lol.

 

[Jezabelle]

It might mean who they want you to see 1st? ie: dietician etc ?

 

[Twiggie]

Congrats on getting your appt!!

Apparently bariatric surgery doesn't come under the remit of the Choose & Book service, which I recently found out, and PCT decides which hospital(s) they will provide funding for. York will be the designated hospital for your area.

As far as the appt goes, different hospitals have their own way of doing things so hopefully there will be somebody here who has had surgery, or undergoing the appt system to advise you what their procedure is.

Some hospitals require you to undergo all the tests prior to seeing a consultant, whereas in my case we see the consultant first and he decides which tests we need to undergo before seeing him again. Some hospitals also require you to have funding in place before they will even see you.

It might be worth contacting either your PCT or the hospital to enquire what their procedure is for bariatric surgery to put your mind at rest.

 

[yorkiegal]

thanks. I'm just amazed I could get an appointment so soon, and therefore am absolutely certain something will go wrong lol. I thought maybe the short waiting time for the initial appointment was due to them refusing everyone for surgery.

 

[dreamofbeingslim]

Ring them back but before you do write down the questions you want answered. Good luck. Let us know what they say.

 

[thinkbethin]

Don't worry, at least you have an appointment to start the ball rolling. Good luck and hope all goes well for youxxx

 

[phatmomma]

Yay at least you are on the way hun.... Just ring and check you are actually seeing someone on the 12th.

Good luck with your journey xx

 

[yorkiegal]

So turning up with my hospital bag and expecting to come home with a smaller stomach probably not likely then?

 

[dreamofbeingslim]

lol wishful thinking. That would be great if we could do that.