Bibra Lake Specialist Centre - Bibra Lake, Western Australia

Bri T.

Absolutely horrific.

I called on Friday 12 March to book an appointment with a psychiatrist and was told: a) that only one of them was accepting new patients (that's fine), b) the wait list was through the end of April (also fine but not ideal), and c) that I couldn't book an appointment until I got a referral from my GP (not fine, if the wait time is a month and a half then that's plenty of time to get a referral during the wait period.)

But, OK. I went to the GP and got a referral because I need treatment.

I then called on Monday 15 March and advised that I had a referral. The receptionist told me to email it through; said the psychiatrist will have to evaluate my referral for suitability before I can be accepted as a patient; and told me I still could not yet book an appointment until the referral was assessed. He assured me that it would be done on Tuesday. Meanwhile "late April" is starting to look more like "early May".

So, I sent the referral through. Didn't hear anything on Tuesday.

Called on Wednesday for an update. Was told that I would have to wait until the following week because the psychiatrist listed on the referral (the only one who I was told was accepting new patients) had been too busy on Tuesday to evaluate it and she wouldn't have any availability to do so until next week. This was unacceptable as I couldn't even book the appointment yet and I would have already been waiting a month and a half for an appointment let alone an extra week because of this RIDICULOUS protocol. I told her this. In response, the receptionist said that she would get one of the other psychiatrists to evaluate it today and I would receive a call tomorrow.

Late Thursday afternoon I still had not yet received a call so I called them and was put on hold for a few minutes while the receptionist went to check. When she took me off hold, she told me that my GP had been notified yesterday that this practice was no longer accepting new patients and I would have to find a new psychiatrist elsewhere. I expressed my frustration about this, told her everything I've since written in this review, and was again told that they are no longer accepting new patients.

These people do not care about the mentally ill. They don't even know what empathy is.

Mental illness is a funny thing – it often involves executive dysfunction, which means you might have trouble working up the initiative to do anything, let alone try and deal with a lengthy referrals process. This is one of my my struggles. So, all of this hassle and for what? A week wasted as my illness worsens, and instead I have to go *back* to the GP, which is a difficulty in itself, because this practice couldn't get their facts straight. And people wonder why the suicide rate is so high? It's in part because of doctor's offices like this, who treat people like trash.

What a disgusting waste of time. Shame on them.

Ted S.

On a disability pension, I’d go there to be delayed for an hour, throwing my support workers into dilemmas. Now, not even phone consults are going ahead as scheduled. The receptionist is adequate, but psychiatrist Elise Duncan is to be avoided.

Zee B.

Terrible experience. Didn't get to see the person I was originally referred to.

Was talked down too. they made personal opinions/comments on what I should be doing with my life.

The 1 thing I went in there for help for she said she wouldn't / couldn't help me with, i felt forced to make another appointment.

I didnt want to .no option to cancel the appointment.

Being forced to pay for a appointment i never wanted and didnt attend.

Z B. (.

Norm P.

Alisha A.