GP referral

[roropotato]

Hi,

I recently saw a GP about feeling depressed and anxious. She prescribed me some meds and put me on a mental health care plan and she asked me to pick a psychologist to forward it to. I looked online and picked a practice and doctor and went back to my GP with my choice, and she then faxed my plan to them. However it didn’t occur to me to actually check in with the practice first. I called to make an appointment only to be greeted with an automated message saying they are fully booked till March and aren’t taking new patients. I have a few other practices and doctors in mind and will definitely call beforehand to see if they are taking new patients. My question is, do I need to book another appointment with my GP to get the mental health care plan forwarded to a new psychologist or can I call reception and ask them to do that?

Thanks in advance! ✨

[romantic_thi3f]

Hi roropotato,

Welcome to the forums and thank you for your question! Major bummer that this happened as the waiting lists can be really long sometimes.

Unfortunately due to the way Medicare works it has to be the treating psychologists name on the MHCP referral. However, if you are able to find one, it's possible that your GP could just change the details without booking a new appointment entirely since it's only the name that needs to be changed and not anything else.

Best of luck in your search!

rt