Prof of Respiratory Medicine I saw recently.

It depends what level you want to go in at. Juts a chat with your GP asking him to refer you elsewhere or do you want to make a formal complaint. I would start with the former.

Yes, talk to your GP.

Start with GP - he can contact the hospital on y9ur behalf.

Also use PALS service at the hospital.

Good luck! - as if you did not have enough on your plate!

Speaking to GP (woman) on Monday.
Have PALS contact details.

My sister (was pharmacology lecturer) says Amitriptyline is obsolete, and more, it's NOT licenced for this purpose.

allie, amitryptiline is sometimes prescribed to help pain management, that could have been the thinking if pain was the consultants mistaken focus. Have had a very good experience with PALS recently, understanding, helpful and efficient. Hope you GP will refer elsewhere. Good luck.

My GS was recently prescribed amitryptiline so it is certainly not obsolete. But this was for anxiety and sleep problems. Very different!!!

Yes, I agree the drug is not licensed for this purpose, but it has been prescribed for pain and also arthritis for decades. It acts as a muscle relaxant and is often used in MS patients too.

I also saw a professor (orthopaedic in my case) who had a dreadful manner and disliked being questioned. I was so aghast at being offered a knee replacement I just walked out of the consultation. I went back to my GP who did not seem surprised. When asked what I felt was the best way forward, I asked for a physio referral. Result? A completely different diagnosis and all sorted within 8 weeks. Now running 5- 8k's. Although more often than not its just the 5!!!

The point my sister is making is that he should have told me that it was not licensed. He didn't and she says this is illegal.

FAir point Alie

Another discovery - among those who shouldn't take Amitriptyline, are those who have had a heart attack or have
an irregular heart ....both apply to me!

My sister says 'He's a prat!'

Absolutely. Should not be used in the acute recovery stage of MI. I have also seen it cause an acute MI in young patients who take an OD of the drug.

GP said yesterday I have to deal via the hospital. Pity it was 7pm by the time she phoned and I think she was quite stressed.....

I have spoken to the PALS at the JR. They will contact the department.... ring me back....

Nothing yet.
Also nothing about possible counselling from TalkSpace (NHS) for depression......

Hope PALS can help, allie. Not sure about the referral process for NHS counselling in your area. If you self referred give them a ring and ask the wait time, if the GP referred I would still give their office a ring and chase, that's if you can bear to, it all requires energy I know. Hope something resolves soon.

I might be wrong, but I think TalkSpace is an online therapy service.

The waiting time for initial face-to-face consultation in my area is about nine months. After that, you'll be lucky to be offered group CBT.

Mental health services in most parts of the country are in meltdown. Almost everybody I know seeks a private counsellor @ £70 - £100 per hour, or gives up.

Oh lord.. I knew there would be a wait, but not that bad. and of course they didn't say. I was looking for groups near me, and there seemed to be some....

Private is not possible.

It's Talkingspace, sorry.

That really hasn't helped.

Aha! Just Googled it. It looks like NHS Oxford have outsourced mental health to a partnership. The website says you should be contacted for a telephone consultation in five days.

Good luck with it. Hopefully, it meets your needs.

My experience with something similar is that patients are referred to online therapy and/or group 'courses'. If patients don't think these are right for them and don't attend, they're discharged and sent back to the GP, where they have to start all over again.

I've suffered from depression for over 40 years and I've witnessed the decline in the services offered. I now cope with my condition myself and see a private therapist if I feel out of control. I can't think of any polite way to describe what I feel about mental health services.

Thank you, dd. I had the phone consultation....just questions. No letter since.
Mostly I have coped but my situation has got worse. Mentally and physically.

allie, please do phone them and explain, you've nothing to lose. You shouldn't have been left in limbo, no excuse for it but sometimes things do go awry and really no harm in reminding them you are waiting and your symptoms have worsened. Also no harm in requesting a face to face assessment, it can happen although of course no way of knowing if it will. I really hope some support comes soon.

If it's anything like my local service, what will now happen is that your case will go to a person responsible for allocating you to 'appropriate' therapy, which is likely (in the first instance) to be some kind of group or online therapy. Obviously, online therapy doesn't have resource implications, but group therapy does and there is likely to be a long waiting list.

I agree with cornergran. Ring them up and ask what's going on and explain that you're finding it increasingly difficult to cope. The problem is, of course, that it's difficult to be assertive when you feel depressed. If there's anybody you trust in real life (maybe your GP), you could ask him/her to ring.

Very tired today.
It's been ten days...this weekend I may see my grandson which cheers me up...I will leave it until Monday, I think. Thanks.