"Gynaecology referral"

I needed to book an appointment with a Gynecologist at the hospital. I called the Outpatient and asked about the requirements—only a short time after I submitted a referral from my doctor. I received the automatic email stating I would get a response in two weeks after the referral had been triaged.

Two weeks passed, and I called Karratha outpatient, inquiring whether my referral had been triaged and if I had been shortlisted. I was informed my referral did not have sufficient information; hence I had to contact my doctor to resubmit. I got all the details that the nurse stated were needed for the referral to be accepted, and my doctor resent the referral with all information asked.

Another two weeks went by following the submission of a 2nd referral. I called the Outpatient again and was informed the referral still needed to be corrected.

I asked why I had not been contacted and informed of this via email, phone, or mail as I had provided all my details, and my situation was not improving while I waited for a shortlisting. This was nearly eight weeks since my first referral was sent.

The nurse on the day stated they would send out a letter and explain why the referral had been declined. I received the letter, but after nearly two months of waiting to get shortlisted, I accepted an actual offer for surgery in Perth. I took this as it was an actual date. I applied for PATs, however, as the services I was traveling for were offered locally. However, that was not the main concern, the time it took for me to try and get shortlisted is the issue. I feel it should never take a patient more than two months to get a shortlisting and for them to be the one who chases after that.

What could have been better?

I believe the communication could have been better. The first time my referral was reviewed, I believe I should have received some communication clearly outlining what was missing and what I needed to correct without me having to wait and reach out as a patient.

I feel the communication should have also gone out to my referring doctor so they know what needs correcting.

The process of having to wait, uncertain of what was going on as a patient, was absolutely stressful and I believe should not happen as it is detrimental to a patient's physical and mental health.

How did you feel about your care?

I did not receive any care from Karratha Outpatient.

I feel I was lucky to have reached out to a private doctor who offered an earlier appointment for surgery. However, I had to fly out to Perth and inquire about the extra cost of flights, accommodation, and medical care.

I would have been happy knowing that my referral was wrong, and I might have miscommunicated somehow, resulting in my situation. However, recently, I received a call from Karratha outpatient asking me if I was available the following day to see a Gynecologist as my referral had been reviewed and accepted. So does this mean nothing was ever wrong with the referral I sent? According to the Outpatient letter, the same referral is still declined.

I am greatly disappointed in the health system because of this.

What needs to happen moving forward?

Based on my experience, I feel that on the initial point of reviewing a referral, communication should be made with the pt. Either be it: "Your referral has been shortlisted, we will be in touch, or your referral has not been accepted with enough reason as to why and what needs to be done." This should happen as soon as the initial review happens.

If the Outpatient is short-staffed, then I believe the staffing needs to be addressed so that communication breakdown does not occur.

In my opinion, patients should not feel the need to advocate for themselves just to be shortlisted. I feel this should be a clear and straightforward process.