I have received a letter from the Devon Referral Support Service.   The main body of the letter says:-

"You have recently been referred for a specialist 'MENTAL HEALTH- ADULTS OF ALL AGES' assessment.  This may or may not lead to you requiring a hospital appointment in the future.  Please contact the Devon Referral Support Services (DRSS) Booking Team on 01626 ******* and we can take you through the options available."

           

I have some issues with this letter:-

1)"we can take you through the options available."
 Is this going to mean a long series of questions over the phone that I need to answer in a certain way to get a referral?  When I went through the self referral service, as recommended by my GP, I wasn't thought to be ill enough, because of the answers I gave to a questionnaire.  This was only a few weeks before I went into this episode of depression, the worst of my life.

2) "may or may not lead to you requiring a hospital appointment in the future".
I thought I was just waiting on a date, after all my GP has referred me.

3) "specialist 'MENTAL HEALTH- ADULTS OF ALL AGES' assessment"
This is hospital speak which sounds officious and not welcoming.

It has caused my anxiety levels to rise, as I was just hoping for things to be simple and clear cut.  I don't feel a great deal of confidence in what awaits me, hopefully I will be pleasantly surprised.  At some point in the future, probably when I am a lot better, I will take this up with the service mangers.