NHS Policies has got me wound right up

GlasweJen

3 cancelled appointments and you're griping that you need to see a GP again for another referral?

I've been a patient at the same hospital since I was 12, I have an appointment every 3 months for cardiology and every year for pacemaker, I have never missed an appointment with either in the 11 years i've been attending. Then at the end of my last appointment there weren't any appointments in 3 months time for me to come to, the earliest was 5 months so I took it. I turned up on that day 5 months later to read a sign that said 23% of appointments for that clinic had been missed, this meant people that just didn't show up or people who cancelled with less than 48 hours notice.

I was taken and seen, the doctor noticed that my arrythmia has got worse, i needed admitting and had a procedure done that day, if it had been caught 2 months earlier it could have been treated with medication, instead i have another painful keloid scar, missed 3 weeks at work and yet i still can't get my three monthly appointments.

My condition is also unpredictable, yes it's hard to manage and yes my immune system is crap from years of steroid treatment but you've just got to get on with it or else there'd be no point making the appointment anyway.

Unity

Trialia wrote: »

Ugh, yes! Mid Staffs PCT did the same to me a few years ago, when I had happened to be unwell with the flu and two migraines over three psychiatric appointments in succession. It's a stupid guideline, frankly.

If you are anything like my daughter, when she gets a migraine she can't get out of bed and can just about manage to vomit into a bucket at the bedside. Thankfully this seems to be the only problem she has and since they aren't too frequent her bosses understand.

GlasweJen wrote: »

3 cancelled appointments and you're griping that you need to see a GP again for another referral?

I've been a patient at the same hospital since I was 12, I have an appointment every 3 months for cardiology and every year for pacemaker, I have never missed an appointment with either in the 11 years i've been attending. Then at the end of my last appointment there weren't any appointments in 3 months time for me to come to, the earliest was 5 months so I took it. I turned up on that day 5 months later to read a sign that said 23% of appointments for that clinic had been missed, this meant people that just didn't show up or people who cancelled with less than 48 hours notice.

I was taken and seen, the doctor noticed that my arrythmia has got worse, i needed admitting and had a procedure done that day, if it had been caught 2 months earlier it could have been treated with medication, instead i have another painful keloid scar, missed 3 weeks at work and yet i still can't get my three monthly appointments.

My condition is also unpredictable, yes it's hard to manage and yes my immune system is crap from years of steroid treatment but you've just got to get on with it or else there'd be no point making the appointment anyway.

I can see where you are coming from, but I think it's a matter of proportion. Yes it is annoying to see that 23% of appointments are missed - but the people to be annoyed at are the ones who simply can't be ar5ed to attend, not those who seriously want to be helped but really aren't well enough to turn up. I'm fairly sure there'd be patients in the hospital waiting room who would complain if Mupette turned up with a raging virus, coughing and sneezing in every direction.

If the NHS were being run as a business, they would have an additional list of patients who were willing to take an appointment at short notice - hopefully with their mobile numbers attached:). The pain clinic I visit does this and it works very well, they even do it with their theatre lists so I've often had a call to say: "Can you come in for your procedure next week?" Suffice to say this pain clinic is in a different city to the hospital I had the problems with .

It could be worth ringing your consultant's secretary and asking about short-notice appointments, pointing out what happened last time, so that if an appointment materialises at three months you get first refusal. From my experience it is always worth speaking to the consultant's secretary rather than the appointments section. Some of them even encourage a weekly phone call to check for cancellations.

Trialia

Unity wrote: »

If you are anything like my daughter, when she gets a migraine she can't get out of bed and can just about manage to vomit into a bucket at the bedside. Thankfully this seems to be the only problem she has and since they aren't too frequent her bosses understand.

Pretty much, yes. That and I can't bear sound or light above a certain very low degree. There are some where I can just about manage to use my computer if I wear sunglasses, have contrast and brightness way down and don't move my head at all, but they aren't common.

GlasweJen, if I thought like that I'd never be able to make an appointment, because I really never do know until the day of whether or not I'll be able to get up. Most of the time I can manage to make it in, but some things stop me dead. That can't be helped. You seem quite lucky if you have been able to make it to all your appointments and never had to cancel any.

Mupette

GlasweJen

It's not as simple as you are making it out, we are all different, we all have different needs and illnesses. Some of us have mobility issues some have care issues some of us have both. Some of us have immune issues...

I'm glad that for all your problems, you are able to attend every single appointment, and are coping well. may i ask when you have flu do you attend appointments and spread your germs? or are you able to postpone your appointment, or are you just lucky that at the time of your appointments you are fit to attend.


Good point that Unity has made, but i'll say it again.

I don't think it is very sensible to turn up to a hospital when i am ill with something that is contagious, especially if in the same hospital there are babies being born, not to mention the poorly babies. The secretary that i spoke to may think its ok, but i've been bought up with at least the good sense to try not to spread my germs.




I must say i have had my fair share of hospital cancelling my appointments, its always the eye hospital, where they push you back for someone new on the books, like GlasweJen my health got worse due to that happening to me, I lost my eyesight due to uvitis because of it, luckily with time and steroids it came back. did i gripe like i am now no i did not.

WhiteHorse

Unity wrote:

If the NHS were being run as a business, they would have an additional list of patients who were willing to take an appointment at short notice - hopefully with their mobile numbers attached ...

Some places do actually do this and do it well. It's not NHS-wide though.

It's entirely down to attitude and local initiative. I've been in clinics where the staff refuse to phone around to fill cancelled slots, preferring instead to sit around talking or even to go home early.

Savvy_Sue

Mupette wrote: »

Yes you are right, i guess a planned admission is something i could/should consider, although i can't get my head around that, (someone might need that bed more than me)

Sorry, but that needn't be your concern. IF someone needs that bed more than you, rest assured they will cancel your stay!

smileitconfusespeople_2

I think this is a very interesting thread , ill try to keep it as short as I can,(please dont shoot the messenger) :oI have a friend who works there atThe local hospital near me operates this, system the patient is offered three appointents , in total then they are removed from the waiting list , If a patient rings up and say the cant attend for eg, a funeral,work commitments or having another hospital appointment, the the records are up dated to show the reason(should) they then should either agree another appointment , if the next appointment is cancelled, the patient's records are marked accordingly(should) they then are advised that they may have to go back gp or see the consultant again, sometimes a person can be put hold , it all down unfortunately down to waiting times GOVERMENT, a patient has a timeline to be seen in, from out patients(consultation)and tests to be done eg blood tests , xrays, then back to the consultant for results(out patients) then if need to have any surgery etc .

When the N.H.S gets it wrong it gets it very wrong , and when they do it well they do it well

My mother had her operation cancelled 4 times , one the date was given in error, 2nd over the phone but no letter recieved so mother didnt show up for op??!! 3rd mother was unwell (we cancelled) 4th 1 week before letter sent to say the surgeon was on holiday ,We are now waiting for the 5th appointment.

When my friend had a baby the care and dedication she had from the beginning through to the end was excellent

The Good old N.H.S EHHHH the system was not supposed to work like this what happened to caring for the Sick ?! its now filled the Managers who cant manage, and over tired surgens, consultants who are quick to see you privately and take your money ..and most of the time only for you to still join the queue??! total Rubbish after all this time ,what is it 60 odd years?! or there about and they are still trying to get it RIGHT :eek:

Oscar_The_Grouch

I appreciate that there are times when you simply cannot make it to an appointment, whether it's because you have a clashing appointment with a different clinic, are just too ill to make it, or have personal reasons for the cancellation. The problem is that there are 2 types of people who cancel:

1. Those who have just genuinely been unlucky
2. Those who are wasting peoples time (and money)

By asking you to refer back to your GP if you miss 3 appointment, it helps to weed out the "class 2" people as they are unlikely to go back and explain "well for the first appointment I had a hangover and the second I was working and the third I forgot about". Those that are genuine will go back to the GP and explain what happened.

My GP's surgery is very good. If I were to miss 3 appointments for genuine reasons, I'd simply phone the surgery and explain. The GP would be passed a message and I wouldn't even have to take up an appointment that could be better used by someone else. If the GP needed more information, they'd call me. If they were simply happy to re-refer me, the receptionist would call me.

Now anyone who knows me from the Insurance board may think that I believe complaining is the right thing to do in all situations. I'm about to prove them wrong. My personal opinion (and let's get that straight - it's my opinion) the quickest way to get another appointment will be to go back to the GP and ask them to refer you again. They can write a nice letter to say they are happy you are not a "timewaster" and everything is sorted. If you complain, they will review the complaint, discuss it, possibly contact your GP for an opinion and then make a decision on whether or not to uphold the complaint. This could take a while and there's no guarantee they'll uphold the complaint, forcing you back to the GP anyway!!

I've got 2 appointments coming up. In both cases, the letters arrived 3 months before the appointment date. Now let's say that 23% of the appointments between now and then will be either cancelled or "no shows" (figure taken from an earlier post in this thread by GlasweJen). That's approximately 3 weeks of appointments missed. So my appointments have been delayed so that approximately 3 weeks of wasted time can be catered for. That doesn't fill me with joy for some reason...

Oscar_The_Grouch

Errmmm.... Just to say that in relation to paragraph 3 in my post above, I've never missed 3 appointments; I just know how well my GP's surgery works!!

WhiteHorse

smileitconfusespeople wrote:

... it all down unfortunately down to waiting times GOVERMENT, a patient has a timeline to be seen in ...

That's very interesting. So, if for whatever reason, you can't get through the system in the designated target time, they simply solve the problem by throwing you out the system.

Yet again, the political agenda comes before patient care.