Canagirl
Wow that's incredible! - and I thought our public health system was bad - 6 mths to see a neuro + I paid for my own blood tests because I couldn't get the doc. to order them.

Does your health system have a priority appt. process? Here (NZ) they triage your referral and decide if you are 'urgent', 'semi-urgent', 'non urgent' or 'elective' - appt. dates are made depending on this assessment and there are rules they have to follow (ie: semi-urgent have to be seen within 4 mths of being triaged - problem is there is no rule to say how long they can take to triage the referral - mine was only done the week after I rang them when I had heard nothing for 2 mths. If you're deemed 'elective' you can end up on a waiting list and then sometimes they just cull the waiting lists - usually because the govt. cuts funding - and you get bumped back and told to 'see your GP if your problem still exists' and you have to start all over again!

Maybe they did know you'd already had your MRI and that's why you got a long wait time (Mind you that would be crediting them with having the intelligence to figure it out!).
Have you considered e-mailing an organization like the national MS foundation and asking them if they're aware of delays for assessment in your area, and if this is what they'd typically expect for someone undergoing an MS assessment. I realize you're cleared of having MS but they'd be probably be interested to know what's happening out 'in the trenches' so to speak.

Hang in there Canagirl - happy to exchange PHS (Public Health System) rants anytime. Some day I may tell you about my last appt. - with a head of dept. that "doesn't do computers".