Specialist NHS clinic update

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An update for those trying to access OCD treatment at the Specialist NHS psychological service for anxiety and related problems based at the University of Bath run by Avon and Wiltshire Partnership Trust (AWP.  In January AWP published this update on their website:

12 January 2018

Unfortunately, the Specialist Anxiety Disorders Clinic is not able to accept any new referrals at present due to senior staff changes. 

An update will be issued in the next couple of weeks when we have more information regarding these changes. 

OCD-UK’s understanding is that those patients that were already receiving treatment or had received funding for treatment and accepted by the clinic before the January update should not be affected.   We expect to be able to update more on this later in the month.

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[seekingERPnorthwest]

The clinic was going to update that information at the end of January but I think it actually took until March.  I was really excited to get a letter from the clinic because I thought, finally, I was going to get a date to start treatment.  Instead it was a letter explaining that although they had previously explained that you could apply for funding for further sessions if clinically appropriate, they were capping the number of sessions you could have to what had already been agreed. You had to reply by the end of March to say if you still wanted to go ahead with treatment.

As you explained above, I understood that Professor Salkovskis' departure only affected new referrals - that the clinic wouldn't accept any more but that people already on the waiting list with funding in place would not be affected.  Today I've found out that his departure has had a massive impact on the clinic and everybody on the waiting list because, if I've understood it correctly from speaking to Simone the administrator this afternoon, they FROZE THE LIST for two months and have not treated anybody for two months....???? !!!!  This was apparently done for "fairness" and they claim they couldn't treat anybody while they were waiting for replies to their March letter.  I had previously understood that Professor Salkovskis doesn't see patients face to face any more but Simone said that that is not true. 

I didn't understand why his departure meant that they couldn't accept new referrals and I didn't understand why it meant they would have to cap the number of sessions you could have, and I cannot believe they would freeze all treatment for two months. This is surely going to have a massive impact on patients, who like me have been waiting several years for help.  I don't know how they could think this would be OK!  Or how why they left the treatment-freezing information off their letter or the statement on their home page.  The letter said "We wanted you to be aware of the change in senior staff within the clinic so that you could make a choice about whether or not you wanted to remain with the clinic" and it didn't mention anything about them halting treatment completely.

I've been waiting two years, two months for treatment and this is one more NHS delay on top of all the others.  Why can't they operate a system whereby if one person leaves, it doesn't have a such a dramatic and negative impact on the service?

[seekingERPnorthwest]

Can't sleep because of this problem - please can anyone help?Thanks