Whose referral is it anyway?

fleabag

Hope to get clarification on this situation:

I broke my arm in June and had it plated and screwed. After the op, the consultant said the one of the bones was crumbly and that he would arrange a bone scan. I left hospital but heard nothing more.

I wrote to the hospital requesting a referral. I am covered privately for this scan at another hospital to the one which performed the surgery.

I got a call today saying that I had been referred by the original hosoital and the waiting list was 5 months. I explained I had private cover for another hospital and could I use the referral for this hospital?

I was told no, and that I had to go to my GP for a referral.

Is this correct? I thought a referral is a referral regardless. It seems ludicrous that I have to go to my GP now to request a referral which already exists, albeit for a different hospital. I was treated as a private patient at the hospital - surely this referral is therefore private and I can choose the hospital to carry out the scan?
Thanks for any insights into this.

RobFowl

See your GP and they will sort it out...