I recently went to see a Doctor for treatment for my clinical depression and social anxiety disorder, as I have been wimpily avoiding it like the plague, so I was sick with nerves but still managed to get my point across.
...Except, he was one of those GPs that isn't interested in discussing the situation and possible treatments, what I've had in the past in terms of treatment, what is actually wrong with me, etc. (I'm a new patient at this surgery, first time seeing a GP there.) This is very annoying and not especially helpful, but not the suck.
When I first started talking about why I was there, a lady knocked on the door, entered and he started talking to her in the middle of me speaking, and proceeded to do so at some length. He then got up to leave, finally apologising in an offhand manner just as he was going out of the door, and left me sitting in the office for quite a while before he came back. Again, not the suck.
He told me that I needed to go to a specific place for counselling, then if that didn't work I would do _this_, then if that didn't work _that_ and then finally there was _whatever_ as a final resort. He listed everything super fast so I don't actually know what the other options were, but that's not really too much of an issue as my partner heard the name of the place that I needed to go to first, so it's all good.
He just said to go there, and that was that, time to leave.
I should have thought of this at the time, but because:
-It's not my job to do so, and
-Blargh nerves
I didn't.
The "this" I speak of is:
I looked up the counselling place so I could get a phone number and arrange an appointment, and what do I see?
"Your GP may feel that counselling is an appropriate way forward and write a referral letter to the _place_.
Following receipt of the referral letter you will be contacted by letter asking you if you still wish to opt in to the service – once this is confirmed you will receive a letter offering an initial assessment."
I... Oh. I cannot actually go there without a referral, unless I want to pay £15 min. an appointment.
I've had counselling from a lot of different places, it is common sense that a GP (especially one who obviously knew the deal about where patients go for such treatment) has to give you a referral (not always, but usually), you don't just randomly turn up. ... But he didn't. He just sent me on my way, making the entire appointment and stress over it a total and utter waste of time.
So now I need to make an another appointment to get said referral. I will be making sure that it's with a different GP.