NHS Direct

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Has anyone here called NHS Direct regarding depression/anxiety? Or maybe requested a call back from their online symptom checker?

If so, how was it? What sort of things did they ask?

Thanks
Steve

Never done it. Though, if you're worried, go for it... nothing to loose. If they aren't helpful, try your GP or a counsellor. Also if you're at Uni, most of them have a counselling service. I think you're also allowed just to go for a chat about things

Even if they do have a depression/anxiety checker, ultimately, NHS Direct is a call centre with staff miles away from you who you can't see for any real treatment, whether that's prescriptions for medication or referrals for therapy... all they're going to do, probably, is tell you to go and see your GP.

So skip the pointless phone call, and just jump straight to phoning your GP to make an appointment.

Unless... are you feeling in some kind of immediate crisis? If you're feeling very depressed and you might hurt yourself, or others, then call your GP out of hours service (the same number as the day time number, it should switch over to their emergency cover), or if you're feeling really bad, you can go to A&E.

If you're in an immediate crisis, but you're not at risk of harming anyone, including yourself, then you can call or email the Samaritans. I think in some places they also have a local branch where you can go, but you'd have to check whether that's available near you.

http://www.samaritans.org/talk_to_someone.aspx

You might also find these websites useful:

Anxiety UK has information on its website, and there's also a helpline, but I think that's only daytime.
http://www.anxietyuk.org.uk/

There's also the Depression Alliance and they also suggest some other services:
http://www.depressionalliance.org/
http://www.depressionalliance.org/help- ... upport.php

Mind is more of a general mental health charity and support organisation, not specifically for depression or anxiety, but you might also find some of their information useful. They also have an advice line, but again it's daytime only.
http://www.mind.org.uk/
http://www.mind.org.uk/help/advice_lines

Why is visiting a GP ever the only option? Whenever I look for suggestions on the internet, all I get is 'visit a GP'.

Are regular GP visits quite common for a lot of people with Asperger's Syndrome? As the above tend to happen on here as well as related forums.

But for me, this is about the only thing that is impossible. Firstly, it is virtually impossible to even get an appointment. Secondly (mostly due to my AS and associated anxiety), I am sh!t at communication (the subject of depression I can hardly even write about on forums). Thirdly (mostly likely due to the fact that I have AS), I don't really have anyone to help with such matters.

Plus I don't like GPs. Nor their receptionists. And I get depressed just thinking about the building which the surgery is in, let alone actually entering it and trying to find my way around. Although the new foyer they have built recently is an improvement.

The only thing which helped me in the end was getting a GP appointment. I'd been putting things off for years, and years, and years.

If you have trouble talking on the phone, write out what you want to say and read from a script. You could try saying, "I'm really depressed, and scared to go to the surgery. Could the doctor come out and see me?" Or do you have any friends at all, or even acquaintances who could do the phone call for you? You can get home visits you know.

I guess no one here has heard that NHS Direct is being scrapped.

I'll probably manage OK on the telephone. It is discussing it face to face that would be difficult.



I have heard, but it isn't happening yet.

If you can manage on the phone, ask for a domiciliary visit... that is a visit at home, and cite extreme social anxiety and phobia. They really should send someone out. Make it sound as urgent as you can.

In order to access medical treatment/psychological/psychiatric intervention for depression/anxiety, then, yes.

In France, they have a system whereby people can just make an appointment directly with a specialist, but in the UK the procedure is to see a General Practitioner first (and as someone else pointed out, it is possible to get a home visit).

Once a person is 'in the system' then it might be possible to bypass GP visits and get visits from a Community Psychiatric Nurse. I don't have personal experience of that, but I know one of my neighbours used to have fairly regular home visits, but he had schizophrenia and needed supervision to ensure he was taking his medication (which he didn't, and then he had an episode and set fire to his flat, but that's another story).

Do you have a diagnosis yet? If so, you should be able to explain your difficulties to the receptionists and they should be able to accommodate you. If they are unsympathetic and awkward, generally just a crap surgery, then you'd probably be better off changing to a different surgery.

When I moved to my flat, I registered with the nearest surgery, a couple of minutes walk away. And then shortly afterwards, I started trying to get a referral to get a diagnosis. To cut a long story short, I was with that surgery for two and a half years, and the GP was useless, she misdiagnosed me even though she had no expertise or specialism in psychiatry/psychology, her receptionists were obstructive and unhelpful and kept being really horrible, i.e. I was suffering from insomnia and needed an appointment to get some sleeping tablets, and they'd give me a 9.30am appointment, and then when I rushed into the surgery at 11.30am, explaining that I'd overslept, because I have insomnia, so I didn't get to sleep till about 7am that morning, they'd refuse to let me see the GP and make me another early appointment that I didn't have a hope in hell of keeping. I eventually gave up.

I ask around some friends for some recommendations of good local doctors, and went to a different surgery, I explained that I was struggling and having difficulties accessing referrals and appointments, because the nature of my medical condition meant I sometimes couldn't make appointments and the other surgery were threatening to throw me off their list for non-attendance at early morning appointments. I explained that before I registered, I wanted a chat with the GP who'd been recommended to me. They made me an appointment, and she seemed understanding and sympathetic and to actually *listen* to me and take my concerns seriously and take them on board. So I made the switch, and within the first six months my new GP had made me two referrals to specialists that the other GP had failed to do in more than two years.

So there can be a big difference between service provision depending on how good or how useless the individual doctors are.

I said I was cutting a long story short, didn't I? But that was just a really long-winded story, an example of the difference it can make if you change surgery.

If your current GP is not making reasonable adjustments, is not enabling you to access medical/therapeutic services, then change to a different surgery.

Do you mean a diagnosis of Asperger's Syndrome? If so, yes, it was diagnosed five years ago.

I highly doubt our local surgery would give me a home visit for anxiety, but I'm not going to ask for one. No point in trying really.

I tried to make an appointment with my GP on Thursday because I have a problem with my neck for which I had some X-Ray photographs taken back in July, but not surprisingly, the receptionist wouldn't even give me an appointment.

I find NHS direct pretty much always says go to your GP (or dentist) unless they can say take a pain killer!

Yes on the NHS. They have to do referrals.
They can also pick up if there is a physical reason for the symptoms e.g. thyroid/anaemia.
The other options are find a private therapist or there are some free services, I found a young women's counselling service.
As someone said some of the anxiety organisations have therapy too e.g. by phone if you pay to join.

There are online CBT programmes too (moodgym), or some that can be accessed...yes through a GP (Beating the Blues).

The advantage of the NHS is you go through the system and if something doesn't work you are directed to another specialist.
The disadvantage is you can spent years lost in the system on waiting lists, being misdiagnosed or finding that they seem a bit clueless as you don't follow that they expect.

Personal moan I've had depression/anxiety since I was a teenager and gone through all the hoops of screening for therapy, anti-depressants, CBT, the suggestion of Asperger's, but now they say there is no funding for my assessment after having seen a psychiatrist who will refer me for assessment. May have to join the private sector again. I got signed off work with depression a year ago and it took me this long to complete treatment due to having to try computer CBT first, going on a waiting list, then the therapist going off ill repeatedly and she was the only therapist without changing GP surgery so I had to wait.

Why? Do you mean she refuses, or that the appointment is too far off or you can't make easily?
Just wondering if you should just find another GP (you may need to go in and register), It doesn't seem right they refuse, I'm not sure if they are allowed to do this? (or shouldn't be anyhow).

I feel your pain. I once got old off by a receptionist because I didn't have an answerphone they could leave a message on. Despite the fact I told them I was at work when they called and wouldn't have got the message until long after the appointment they were trying to cancel! Maybe they didn't believe I started at 7.30 just to be able to make their appointment!

It seems they don't book appointments more than seven days into the future. And the ones in seven days time are often booked up.

I did manage to get an appointment for this Tuesday though. Hopefully my neck will get sorted out then as it has been hurting a bit recently.

EDIT: Just got an answering machine message (I don't normally answer the telephone) telling me that they need to rearrange the appointment.

unbelievable. I was going to say to phone as soon as they open if you don't already.
Don't let a rubbish receptionist get you down, hopefully the doctor will be more helpful.

Turns out they only wanted to delay the appointment by 20 minutes.

Was no good. Apparently there were 'no abnormalities found' on my X Ray. So I will have to put up with the problem.

I was considering discussing my Disability Living Allowance appeal at the appointment, but at the time, all I could care about was getting out of there ASAP.

That was probably my shortest appointment there, at about 1 minutes 30 seconds approx. Longest ever was probably about 5 minutes.

Anyway, I've decided I'm not going back there again unless a family member was to arrange it/take me etc. But that isn't appropriate for some things.

Maybe I will see about registering at a different practise.