2 doctors, both a waste of time

sorry i should have explaned better its 3 weeks untill i can get an appointment with a Psychiatrist

i have nothing...i dont understand how they make asking for help so hard.

Hi @kcd, I am very sorry to hear that you are so unwell. Like @utopia, I can't understand why the G.P's have charged you so much, especially when the first one didn't even have time to do your care plan... he probably should have bulk-billed you if he could not meet your needs within the allocated appointment time. How long was the appointment?

Take you bills into Medicare or call them and see how much of a refund you are entitled to for these G.P. bills.

At least the second G.P. got you an appointment with a psychiatrist.... this is good. The 3 week wait for an appointment is unfortunately typical, I believe. I had to wait 6 weeks. Can you call up the psychiatrist's office and ask to go on a waiting list in case someone else cancels their appointment? Please have a friend of relative do this for you, if you are not up to calling. There is no harm in trying. I know people who have gotten results by doing this.

If you continue to feel unwell or get worse, you can always go to the emergency department of a public hospital and see a doctor there for free. They cannot refuse you treatment. If your symptoms are quite bad they will keep you until a psychiatrist sees you in the hospital. Please keep this in mind.

It's also a good idea to go back to see the G.P. who refered you to the psychiatrist and tell them if you are getting worse. They may prescribe something for you. They could also organise an emergency admission to the hospital for you, going straight from the G.P's consulting rooms.

It does sound a bit like the doctors you saw have dismissed your symptoms, to some extent. It's very disappointing. Please feel free to keep writing to us here.

@kcd,

it sounds as though you have not received the treatment that you deserve. A hospital emergency department may let you go after seeing a doctor, but only if you can assure them that you are no danger to yourself or others and you are released into the care of a responsible adult. Even so; they should have scheduled you an appointment as an out-patient with a psychiatrist and/or given a letter for you to take to your regular G.P. so as follow up treatment could be organised. This is my (uneducated) understanding of how things should go. Like, ideally. I am sorry to hear you had less than ideal treatment. I have, unfortunately, heard a similar story from others.

In my experience, the G.P. would have had the power to decide whether or not to bulk-bill you. The clinic that they work out of may have had a strict policy against it, however. In which case, I personally believe they are not ethical in their practice! $110 bucks for 15 minutes of consultation is a rip-off, in my very naive, uneducated opinion. Please talk to Medicare about this. I think I have paid over 100 dollars for a consultation, but it was booked as a long appointment to begin with, and would have been for a duration of around half an hour. Medicare gave me a generous rebate on this.

Do not give up on your treatment, @kcd. I think you are very close to getting some answers. Write down all your questions to ask the psychiatrist when you do see them. Maybe check with the receptionist at the psychiatrist's office how long the first appointment is for new patients? That way you can prioritise your questions.

I can only give you advice based on my personal experience as a fellow patient. I'm so glad that you have your sister to help you. That must be a huge comfort to you.