Hello,

Thank you very much for providing this service.  I hope someone can help me to understand where in a 2-week referral I am likely to be, but appreciate this may not be possible.

i submitted photos of a skin lesion via the on-line portal of my local sugery, to accompany a request for an appointment.

At the appointment I was told by a GP that I would be referred to a specialist on the 2-week path.  Six days elapsed and I was sent a text message from the surgery, asking that I send more and better quality photos, as "we could send these images to be reviewed by the specialist which could save time for decision in making a referral".

I have typed the quoted part of the message exactly as it appeared: the grammar is confusing, and I may be intrepreting wrongly.  I at first thought sending photos to the dermatologist was equivalent to asking him/her if I should be referred, rather than actually making a referral.  However, is it possible that the dermatologist could make a decision based on photographs, and "making a referral" means he or she could then refer onward to another department?

Only a week has passed since I forwarded new photos, but it has been 15 days since I was told I would be referred.   I'm not particularly nervous, but do have scheduling concerns, and it would be helpful to know if/when I mightl be asked to attend an appointment. I am hoping the "clock" started with my GP and not when the dermatologist recieves the images.

Thank you. :)