Manygates Clinic

Reviews

1. Geraldine Priestley ★☆☆☆☆

   I asked to be referred to this service and had a triage appointment fairly soon after. Four weeks later I received a detailed letter which basically described autism to the letter, but they denied me. On my part I forgot to tell them I'm already diagnosed with ADHD , which must be the most ADHD thing ever! The letter made it sound like I was trying to be diagnosed the same as my son who also has ADHD. They said it was my personality plus depression which just makes me feel broken and hopeless to be honest.Won't be bothering them again but I will probably pursue a better agency in the future

   almost 3 months ago
2. Bethany Shone ★☆☆☆☆

   Long wait for assessment and diagnosis, then said I did not have ADHD just anxiety and depression. Then when I said well there is no hope then, my brain does not work correctly they agreed to trial a medication. This seemed to help. 13 months later I started noticing an increase of symptoms, new symptoms and challenges. After a big depressive burnout I contacted them to request reassessment for other mental illnesses eg Autism, Bipolar. I sent a long email with referenced clinical studies. The response I got has cause said while people can have more than one problem, if they test me again it puts them in a bad light so tough, deal with it. Honestly one of the most degrading services I’ve dealt with which is crazy with what I have been through.

   almost 7 months ago
3. Sarah Bradbury ★☆☆☆☆

   I would urge anyone with a similarly horrendous experience to follow the SWYPFT complaints process to the end, and on not getting anywhere with that (you won’t), forward your complaint to the Parliamentary and Health Ombudsman. The more patients who stand up against this service, the more likely we are to effect change. My pre-assessment forms were attached to no less than 25 additional pages of A4 where I catalogued my difficulties and experiences. My parent gave detailed examples of what I was like as a child - which scored in the range for Autism. The diagnostic questionnaires I completed strongly indicated Autism. All of this was ignored. My sensory difficulties were attributed to ‘anxiety and depression’, and I was offered the crisis team’s phone number on discharge. It is interesting that my presentation is remarkably similar to my daughter’s, who received a diagnosis of ADHD and Autism from CAMHS this year. SWYPFT do not, by the way, acknowledge that Autism and ADHD are highly hereditary. If you are an adult with diagnosed autistic children, they didn’t get it from you, because you’re just ‘anxious and depressed’. If you are in the South West Yorkshire area and on an NHS waiting list for an Autism assessment, I would strongly advise opting for another provider via the NHS Right to Choose scheme. If you do not attend your assessment with the Manygates team flapping your hands and monologuing about trains, you will be told you do not have Autism. How many patients have to receive a diagnosis from an alternative provider after being rejected by this service before a “disagreement in clinical opinion” becomes negligence? Edited post assessment elsewhere: I have received my diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder from an alternative provider. I copied and pasted the information I sent to this NHS Trust, and was upfront about having already been refused a diagnosis. I was told my Autism was “very obvious”.

   almost 8 months ago

1. Jessica H ★☆☆☆☆

   Horrific service from start to finish. Was referred here for ADHD, and when I finally had a face to face appointment, the assessor had decided that I self-diagnosed myself and dismissed anything I said henceforth, eventually telling me to go outside, since that might help. I have never felt so embarrassed and belittled. My personal report was then mistakenly sent to someone else entirely, and it was only discovered when the person who received it read it and noticed it was not their own. The report itself comes two months after the assessment, and it was sparse. The assessor had decided that since I could make eye contact, I did not have ADHD, and thus I will be dismissed. Ridiculous.

   almost 9 months ago
2. Jessica Good ★★★★★

   I’ve been under the care of the adult ADHD service here since 2021, but I was diagnosed by another NHS clinic, several years previous to that, so I can’t comment on their diagnosis, only my care. Which has been excellent. I’ve always felt listened to and taken seriously. Medication reviews are carefully done, not hurried, with several follow up meetings. Text reminders are sent for appointments.

   almost 9 months ago
3. Stephen Simpson ★☆☆☆☆

   My son used this service and found the whole experience terrible from start to finish. From the initial appointments to the autism assessment, the communication and letters were poorly explained and nothing made any sense or had any information regarding appointments. The process caused our son's anxiety to go through the roof and also had a massive effect on us, his parents. We have also sent a letter of complaint and we have got nothing back apart from more letters making no sense. We ended up going down the private route for my son's autism diagnosis as this service is more about proving why people don't have autism instead of supporting them. The assessment does not take into consideration that undiagnosed adults have learnt to mask their traits, and that through masking, these individuals have found a way to 'fit in'. Our son had waited 2 years to be seen and after all this time and making it to the final assessment, he was told his symptoms were anxiety not autism. After this we could not wait any longer, as his mental health was that bad and he was basically told the service could not see him any longer and to return to his GP. The feedback we received was a joke and we were shot down on every comment and point we tried to raise on the feedback call. Our son has since received a positive outcome for his ASD and feels a lot better for it, but a lot of pain has been caused, hence why we are pursuing our complaint all the way to the ombudsman.

   almost 3 years ago

1. Jack Wilkinson ★☆☆☆☆

   Gone through two years of multiple assessments and waiting only to be told on my one hour face to face assessment they don’t think I have ADHD as I didn’t fidget enough and then I was immediately dismissed. I asked what happens now and they said it’s not their responsibility and I’ll be referred back to GP and was escorted out. I am absolutely gob smacked

   almost 3 years ago
2. Sarah Tomlinson ★☆☆☆☆

   This service is outdated and not fit for purpose. I was told o couldn’t be autistic and I just had anxiety. Also verbally told borderline personality disorder which they say never happened. I have now had a private diagnosis of autism. If anyone uses this service please complain to the service and then to the health ombudsman, this service is letting who knows how many people down.

   almost 3 years ago
3. Sara Rose ★☆☆☆☆

   I have previously left a review on my other email address and unfortunately I can't leave a follow up. I decided to seek out a private ASD assesment with harley street phychiatrists it costs 685.00 and is a one off appointment just over an hour it complies with the NICE guidelines and is recognised by the NHS and the phychiatrists also work for the NHS. Manygates clinician told me I wasn't autistic and wouldn't let me see a phychiatrist until after telling me I wasn't autistic & turned down my appeal for a second opinion despite me even having dial come out to help me write it & telling me I can ask for one! It really felt like my world had ended because I was so sure and did have ASD & research and my son is autistic and my niece & all my other conditions like anxiety were blamed instead of understanding they co exist.. today I finally saw a phychiatrist at harley street with several degrees and she confirmed I do infact have ASD & I am very greatful to them. If you don't get the outcome you were looking for and really believe this to be wrong please go somewhere else or do right to choose if you can't afford to go private, stay strong and don't lose hope, you matter & I believe you!

   almost 3 years ago

1. David Finn ★☆☆☆☆

   This was or the worst experience of my life. After waiting for months for an ASD assessment I finally received my appointment and it felt like such a relief to finally be getting some help, how wrong was I?! I received a phone call the day before my appointment from a lady who advised me to go to the main building where someone from the ASD team would meet me and escort me to a suitable room for them to conduct the interview. Having never been to Manygates surgery before I arrived and noticed three separate buildings, a pharmacy, a building with a very clear and distinct “no entry” sign on the door and the main doctors surgery. I (wrongly) assumed that the main surgery is what being to referred to on the phone call the previous day so I signed in and waited in the waiting room. 30 minutes after my appointment was due to start and no sign of anyone coming to meet me, I received a rather stern phone call asking where I was and what time I’d be arriving. After advising the person on the phone that I had in fact arrived 20 minutes early for my appointment and had been waiting in the main surgery she told me I was in the wrong building (turns out the building with the no entry sign on the door was the correct one and I in fact should have entered!) and she would come and meet ASAP. This is where everything started to go wrong. After arguing with the lady on reception that she didn’t want the room she was booked in for, the receptionist managed to find us another room. However, we were in there for all of 30 seconds when two nurses knocked on the door and advised they’d booked the room and needed it straight away. This made the assessor visibly annoyed and we made our way to the room that was originally booked. She made us sit in the room without any lights on during the assessment because she “preferred natural light” and made me feel uncomfortable about taking my mask off. The assessment began and it was clear that the assessor was out of her depth. It took her several seconds, sometimes up to a minute to formulate questions, questions that just seem to be the same. It felt like we were going round in circles. If I heard the phrase “yes but that’s your anxiety” once I heard it a hundred times during the assessment. She had clearly seen that I have been diagnosed with anxiety in the past and was unwilling to move away from this diagnosis and even consider autism as a cause of my symptoms. She downplayed all of my responses to her questions, shook her head and rolled her eyes in disbelief at one of my responses and I genuinely feel as though she didn’t believe me which is incredibly frustrating. Without actually asking me how I felt about the inconvenience at the beginning of the assessment she proceeded to tell me (not ask me) that I handled everything superbly and I couldn’t possibly be autistic. Her conclusion was that I was severely depressed and severely anxious and that I needed medication and CBT. My fiancé was incredibly annoyed about the outcome too and phoned the assessor shortly after my appointment only to be told the assessor wasn’t qualified to diagnose anything other than ASD so she wouldn’t have advised any other form of treatment. I would just like to add that I am not on any medication for anxiety or depression and to say she overshot the mark is a massive understatement. I am now genuinely considering spending £1500+ on a private diagnosis because even though I am entitled to a second opinion I have absolutely no trust in this service!

   almost 3 years ago

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