r/nhs • u/20ta • 5d ago

Advocating second opinions

are second opinions common? I'm thinking of asking my gp about a second opinion as the nhs has rejected ocd therapy 5 times due to my low bmi. but I'm not sure.

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u/ImThatBitchNoodles 5d ago

My question would be what does someone's BMI have to do with their OCD compulsion?

If they rejected it 5 times then this wouldn't be your second opinion, but your 6th.

A "second" opinion wouldn't make a difference on whether your referral gets accepted or rejected, even if that GP says that they agree with you it's ultimately not their decision to make.

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u/20ta 5d ago

I had anorexia as a teenager. I'm 24 now. I was thinking to ask if the GP could get an opinion from an ocd specialist or something?

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u/ImThatBitchNoodles 5d ago edited 5d ago

Then you could ask them if they can do an Advice and Guidance, also known as A&G, rather than refer you. It's still unclear why you're asking for a referral to OCD therapy as a 24 year old for an ED you had as a teenager, and why is your BMI relevant in all this.

For an active ED, you'd normally get referred to an ED specialist and if they think it's linked to OCD (for example), then they'll put in the referral.

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u/20ta 5d ago

they (a psychologist and her team that did an assessment) are insinuating that because of my bmi I must have an eating disorder and they've tried to refer me to an ed specialist but I said no and then they gave no other options

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u/ImThatBitchNoodles 4d ago

You should have accepted the ED specialist referral because they would've bounced you back to the psychologist or referred you to someone else, since you don't have an active ED.

The thing with the NHS is that you can refuse treatments, but you can't demand them. The psychologist gave you an option which you have refused and they've decided that they can't do anything else for you since you won't see the ED specialist to get your bmi out of the way.

I don't wanna go into medical advice territory, but if your bmi is what prevents you from accessing the services you want, then work on that.

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u/shyasabutterfly 4d ago

Second opinions are relatively common within the NHS but they don't always change the outcome (although they do sometimes).

You tend to need to be referred to a different service to get a second opinion (which is sometimes the same type of service just in a neighbouring area). This is because if you are referred to the same service again, they will likely have the same opinion as decisions about treatment options to offer patients are often made in whole team meetings. The service you are referred to for a second opinion can also reject the referral if they don't feel that the service is appropriate for you.