Many school Teachers are directing parents to see their GP to request an ASD assessment via the RTC pathway in view of the local NHS wait times (which is the long-established norm). This is because Teachers are unable to complete a RTC referral themselves. However, in order for us to make this referral for them, we ask that they undertake and provide you with any assessment in the same way they would for the local NHS pathway that we will use in sending this referral. This does not require an appointment with the GP as this is something the Teacher would ordinarily do. Please have any documentation from the school/Teacher ready for your RTC provider. If you are choosing the NHS pathway, please instead send these documents to ourselves alongside the online form.
Before completing the form, please take into consideration the following information.
We are currently experiencing high demand for ASD referrals at the practice, due to this we have had to create a standardised process to follow for equality and patient safety. We understand that many people are concerned by the waiting time for the local NHS neurodevelopmental service and are seeking alternative assessments from other providers, such as the Right to Choose (RTC) Pathway. However, we feel it is important that you understand that not all providers operate in the same way and this has increased workload significantly for our staff and for the patients previously involved in this process.
Choosing you right to choose provider:
Whilst we cannot choose a provider for you and our staff cannot help you in vetting or assessing their suitability, we have tried to make this slightly easier by providing these links:
Right to Choose – ADHD UK – Your NHS options
When choosing your RTC provider, it is important to ensure the following:
- You select the provider that feels right for you and not necessarily the one that has the shortest wait time. Do take time to compare each.
- Ensure you meet their referral criteria and provide any additional documents that they require.
- That they will accept a written GP referral letter by email or eRS and not require the completion of service specific referral forms as this is not something we are able to do for you (this is due to concerns regarding data privacy and administrative burden).
- Once a referral has been made, you are unable to change providers as we are only funded for one RTC assessment per patient for ASD.
Please be aware that if your child is experiencing an acute mental health crisis or struggling with significant substance misuse, many RTC providers will ask that you seek support for this prior to a referral being to made their service.