"Referral was not made for 6 months, despite being told otherwise"

4 years of gastro problems and being passed pillar to post, no one knows what’s going on.

Finally spoke to a Gastro surgeon in January whom advised they'd speak with the Gastro specialists to get me on medication to stop these episodes, and come up with a plan to keep my symptoms at bay. The surgeon said they needed to refer me first to get an appointment. All fine. 

5 months later, my symptoms are worsening, lasting longer, and all round I am deteriorating. I phone the surgeon's secretary over the course of a few weeks, without a single call being returned. One day I phone and manage to get through, they advise I should be contacting the Gastro Specialists instead, and provided me with a number. All fine. 

I call the Gastro specialist's secretary, whom advised the referral was only passed over to their team on that day, 5 months after I was told the referral was made. So I have been suffering for 5 months whilst my referral sat on somebody’s desk waiting to get passed on. 

Not to mention that I am type 1 diabetic, and suffer with depression and anxiety, all of which have been extremely effected by the gastro problems. This has driven me to try to end my life on multiple occasions due to the way the symptoms leave me. 

I feel disheartened, exhausted and simply apprehensive of the NHS ability to refer me correctly despite the severity of the situation. Having worked for the NHS previously, I am so disappointed something this serious has been missed, and my suffering has been prolonged because of someone’s inability to do their job.