Angie, I'm really sorry you've been treated like this. Can you change GP practice?
I was on Oestrogel, Ovestin (estriol cream) AND Vagifem (vaginal estrogen) - all at once. And every day, all of it. Ovestin, twice a day. Vagifem every night. You should use local estrogen liberally and as much as you need it. Like Sheila says you can now purchase Gina over the counter without a prescription from a pharmacy (or online if you look at online pharmacies).
IMO the referral is ridiculous - use local estrogen and see if your symptoms resolve. If they do, great. If they don't, then get a referral. But getting one now is silly. Honestly, the NHS is drowning with stuff they really need to do and doctors making silly referrals like this and creating anxiety just are not helping.
By the way, if you have any other systemic symptoms, you might want to try increasing your Oestrogel dose as well. Because when that dose is high enough, it often means you don't need local estrogen. (I am on 10 pumps of gel now and I no longer need either Ovestin or Vagifem.)