When She Will Not See the GP

Where to start

• Ask for a double appointment, and write down what you’ve seen and for how long.
• Tell her beforehand that she can ask to see the GP on her own for part of it.
• You’ve been worried about her for weeks, and she won’t see the GP.
• Tell her that low mood is ordinary work for a GP, and that she’ll have a say in what happens next.
• If she has hurt herself, or talks about not wanting to be alive, stay calm, thank her if she has told you, don’t promise to keep it secret, and act that day: ask the surgery for an urgent appointment, and if it is closed, use the crisis line. England, Scotland and Wales: call 111 and choose the mental-health option. Northern Ireland: call Lifeline on 0808 808 8000. Help is free, confidential and available at any hour. Whoever answers may share information to arrange care or keep someone safe.
• If she is badly hurt, or may have taken too much of a medicine, get medical help straight away, even if she seems well. Call 999. Or go to your nearest A&E. Help is free and available at any hour.

The rest of the tip, with more to try and why it works, is in the library.

It goes with

• When Your Child Has Gone Flat. A chapter for parents watching a child lose interest in the things she used to love.

The first chapter you open here is free to read in full.

Free on this subject

• Low mood. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.
• General mental health. What to do first, what helps, and who else can help. Free to read and to print.