I first asked for an autism assessment 3 years ago, and I am no closer to getting one. I had repeatedly asked GPs and reception to chase this up for me, only to be given excuses about COVID and long waiting times.
I moved surgery about a year ago, and since then they have treated the issue like it's not their problem anymore and told me to chase it up with my current GP - who are in Sheffield and are not able to chase it up with Barnsley services.
Finally, someone at my current GP chased this up for me and found that an assessment had been recorded with a service and I had been found not to be autistic. I have never received an assessment via telephone or in person. I spoke to my GP about this by this time I was quite irate.
They put me onto the head of reception, who at first denied it had been recorded I had an assessment and said I was still on the waiting list. They repeatedly blamed me for not following this up with the surgery before, even though I have on repeated occasions. They then said I had received a letter notifying me of the result of my assessment, even though I have never had an assessment and had never been notified of this at all. They repeatedly insisted that I'd already had an assessment even though I haven't.
I asked the head of reception how I could possibly have had an assessment if I've never had contact with the autism services, but they still insisted I must have had an assessment. For the record, I did have an informal assessment privately, which found I was autistic, but never through the NHS and not one which is accepted by the NHS so I can receive support.
To be told I was found to be not autistic when I haven't ever had an assessment felt incredibly invalidating and upsetting. It felt like an attempt just to dismiss me so they didn't have to deal with me. I told the reception manager I wanted to make a complaint, to which they said I had to do this via post. I told them that it would be stressful for me to send a letter due to my disability and I didn't want to send one due to the postal strikes and the fact that it would take a long time to be processed. I asked them to either allow me to make a complaint via email or over the phone as this would be a reasonable adjustment under the equality act and would make the process more accessible for me as per legal requirement. However, they repeatedly questioned me and refused to allow me to make a complaint via an accessible format.
This felt like another attempt to make it harder for me to complain, to discourage me from bringing up an issue and so the surgery did not have to deal with it. At points I raised my voice quite a bit because I was angry. The receptionist put the phone down on me multiple times because I asked them to try to empathize with me and understand what it might feel like to have to wait for three years for support and then be told incorrectly I had already been assessed and was not even on the waiting list anymore, and that I felt I was justified in my anger.
Despite this, I felt they never made an attempt to emphasize with me, and spoke to me in a patronising tone. I feel even though I was angry, if the receptionist had been more empathetic and made an active attempt to help me it would have defused the situation and I would have been calmer. At this point I was incredibly angry and asked to speak to their manager, which they repeatedly refused to let me do. I became so irate at this I told them that I could not cope anymore without support and if no one was going to help me to find out what had happened then I was going to take an overdose, as I felt like there was no point in living as no one cared enough to help me get the support I need.
Even after I said this, not once did the receptionist ask me if I was OK or express empathy towards me. They just kept repeatedly saying there was nothing they could do, that I should go to my current GP, and they had nothing to do with the errors that have led to me not having an assessment.
Eventually, they said they would speak to their supervisor, but would not say whether I will get a ring back, despite asking for one. I have never felt so angry or hopeless in my life. I feel like the surgery have repeatedly dismissed me and don't care at all about my welfare. I do not know what support I may be able to get with an autism diagnosis, but it would be far better than nothing, which I have had for 3 years while I've been waiting.
As a result of not having support, my mental health has deteriorated and I've been struggling to function, it has affected my ability to complete my studies. I feel the surgery is fine for anyone with simple problems, but for anyone with more complex needs such as mental health or neurodiversity it is completely inadequate.
In my experience, the receptionists are rude and unhelpful, the GPs are dismissive and incompetent, and overall my experience has been incredibly poor.
Being listened to
Seeing the whole me
Treatment
Staff attitude
Involved in decisions
Reception