How long did your process take?!?!

I am very, very frustrated I live in Ontario, Canada.  I have been trying for over a year to even get any response from the Bariatric Registry.  I don't know if it is something that my Doctor is doing or not doing, or if it is something on their end (the Bariatric Registry).  How long did your process take?  To get a call/or notification or any news from the Bariatric Registry? I just feel like nothing is ever going to happen and I am never going to get this surgery.

That is a really long time to hear anything back...I thought 3 months was long but a year is even longer. See if you can get your Drs office to phone or email. I know my Drs office started phoning about 2 months after. To my knowledge they never actually got anyone to answer but they left messages. I finally got my orientation date today.
I never got a call or even confirmation of referral being received I just got welcome package in the mail today from HRRH hang in there and see if your Dr can phone or email. them

Hiiii!!! Yes I agree, maybe just check in with your doctor to see if they can contact the registry! I waited 6 months without hearing anything the beginning of January to May is when I heard back! I believe it varies for all the clinics!!

Go to http://www.bariatricregistry.ca/Ontario%20Bariatric%20Regist ry%20Referral%20Search.aspx Enter your postal code, and it will tell you what centre you will have your orientation at, and be assigned to. CALL THAT HOSPITAL/CENTRE.  I did this about a month after my doctor sent my referal. It states right on the bariatric registry website to do this. (see below) If the centre has not received your referral, have your doctor resend it.

How can I check my status in the wait list?

If you have not heard from your assigned centre within 3-6 months to invite you to an Information/Orientation session, you can try to contact the centre directly.

Yep, what Jennifer said above. Check using your postal code and try to call the centre you will be assigned to, but be prepared to leave a message and/or wait.

My timeline is below. From the date of my referral, it took about 3 months to get into an orientation class. And from the referral date to surgery was about one year. Some centres are faster than others. And it all depends on funding. If they go through the funding provided to them before the end of the fiscal year (March 31), then they have to wait until new funding is allocated before they can start doing more surgeries.

Patience is the key through this whole process. And the process exists for a reason.

That said, if you have been referred (correctly?) by your doctor, and you have waited a year to hear from a centre, I would advise getting on the phone and calling the centre directly to see what's up. I would also suggest that your doctor may not have made the referral correctly; doing it online is the easiest, fastest way to get yourself in the queue.

Thank you for all the replies. My doctor has tried emailing and calling and has not gotten an answer.  When I call the number and leave a message nobody gets back to me! So I am even more frustrated because I have tried to find out it is not like I have just left it a year without trying to find out where I stand.

I can only imagine how frustrated you must be after a year. My only suggestion would be to contact your doctor's office repeatedly letting them know every couple of days that you still haven't heard, and keep trying with the Registry! Call them 'til you get someone.

Good luck!

Karen

Hi again!  I sent an email to them at [email protected]. to check referral, it was returned promptly. My original referral was lost' , and I had to have my doctor resubmit, so I get the frustration. I also became quickly aware that I would have to stay on top of it all, on my own, without the assistance of my doctor, who tends to have a million things on the go. Good luck!

My doctor referred me twice.  First in April and then in July.  The July one was sent to the right place. Try calling and getting the internet link to the correct form?  

Good luck!  This sounds incredibly frustrating!!

 

I too waited a long time and when I badgered my doctor, they finally figured out that the Bariatric centre never received the referral!  Then they sent it again, but didn't fill out the information correctly.  So a third time and it worked.  That was in July 2013 - I just had my surgery 2 weeks ago.