NHS Policies has got me wound right up

Unity

ceebeeby wrote: »

Unity, there is absolutely no explanation that is acceptable!

I've tried to reason whether or not one of the earlier patients became a major emergency (i.e. seriously collapse or died on the table, the theatre may have to be closed for investigations etc.), but you would have heard, because news like this flies faster than germs!!!

But that's so remote it's unlikely.

However, the only thing I can think of is it must have been SOMETHING fairly important.

Cancer Wait Times are one of the strictest targets, and yours will be the diagnosis part of the pathway by the sound of it. In some health boards, you absolutely cannot cancel a patient on the day of their op (particularly a suspicion of cancer) without the most senior of approvals, as to do so may well cause a breach.

Can I make a teensy suggestion - give your Consultant sec a call, ask her to arrange for soft seating with elevated feet - this might make you more comfy. Might work?

I wish you all the best for next week and hope it goes well. If there's anything I can help to advise with, pse let me know.

All I can tell you is that I was told there were three people on the list and I was first. I'd been told to go in for 8 a.m. originally, then phoned the night before to change it to 9. Then on the morning of the op I was again phoned and asked to come in urgently. I only live five minutes away so it wasn't a problem. Then later in the morning I was told the list had been revised and I had gone from first to last.

At no point have I been given any explanation, the most I got was a rather stroppy theatre nurse who told me my op was cancelled and by her tone - inferred I shouldn't really be complaining as this woman in theatre was in a far worse state.

In terms of how serious this is, my original appointment was for 8th March, but it was brought forward to 17th Feb with another consultant. I saw the registrar who (on the basis of a scan the previous day) booked me in for the following Tuesday 23rd Feb - but this was cancelled as no one was available to do the pre-op appointment. It was rebooked for Thursday 25th and pre-op took place on 23rd.

I have sent in a formal complaint and have spoken to the 'Complaints Co-ordinator' who keeps apologising and is hopefully going to see that this doesn't happen again.

Thank you so much for your thoughts, there are a few things I need answers to - that you may be able to help with, so I'll PM you rather than take this thread further off track.

Thanks to everyone for the good wishes - I will keep you updated.

SingleSue

Trialia wrote: »

No, not really. I'd try just about anything to control my pain from my HEDS and fibromyalgia, but when I have a migraine, I can't move my head, let alone my whole body to go somewhere that will trigger me worse (lots of sound and fluorescent lighting at the doctor's). Just can't.

I'm pretty much the same with a migraine....I even lose the ability to speak (don't worry, freaked me out the first time and had to be checked out as they thought I was having a stroke!) and can't think straight to even to be able to understand what people are saying.

That said, I have been lucky in that I have never had a migraine attack on the same day as an appointment.

SingleSue

krisskross wrote: »

Low immune system or whatever a cold is still just a cold.

Just a cold almost killed my youngest son...not once but twice in the last year and a bit.

Just a cold can be very dangerous for some.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Yeah, I really appreciated it when 5 months pregnant with a compromised immune system, I came into contact with someone who had decided that her little angel's chickenpox was 'only a childhood illness' and presumably hadn't bothered washing her hands after doing the calamine lotion on the pustules.

After the customary incubation period, it was most interesting to find myself in A&E on oxygen, fighting for breath, the consultants more worried about me dying than whether the person concerned cancelled a s*dding outpatients appointment.

Just before I lost consciousness, I overheard them discussing whether there was an obstetrician on call able to do a section in A&E if I didn't make it, as it was too dangerous for the other mums and babies to take me down to maternity, and where there was a SCBU able to deal with a preemie with chickenpox within the air ambulance range.

But hey, at least she didn't cancel an appointment.

Mupette

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Yeah, I really appreciated it when 5 months pregnant with a compromised immune system, I came into contact with someone who had decided that her little angel's chickenpox was 'only a childhood illness' and presumably hadn't bothered washing her hands after doing the calamine lotion on the pustules.

After the customary incubation period, it was most interesting to find myself in A&E on oxygen, fighting for breath, the consultants more worried about me dying than whether the person concerned cancelled a s*dding outpatients appointment.

Just before I lost consciousness, I overheard them discussing whether there was an obstetrician on call able to do a section in A&E if I didn't make it, as it was too dangerous for the other mums and babies to take me down to maternity, and where there was a SCBU able to deal with a preemie with chickenpox within the air ambulance range.

But hey, at least she didn't cancel an appointment.

Thats terrible, really terrible. I'm glad someone can see through my 'lazyness' for not wanting to enter a hospital / clinic full germs to pass on to someone, my god if that was me (ie the mother with the child with chickenpox) i would be devastated that i had inflicted such a dangerous infection, Just goes to show that there are still idiots, yes idiots out there who are prepared to put others health at risk.

Indie_Kid

Mupette wrote: »

Thats terrible, really terrible. I'm glad someone can see through my 'lazyness' for not wanting to enter a hospital / clinic full germs to pass on to someone, my god if that was me (ie the mother with the child with chickenpox) i would be devastated that i had inflicted such a dangerous infection, Just goes to show that there are still idiots, yes idiots out there who are prepared to put others health at risk.

I agree. I know someone who thinks that going out with the flu is acceptable. When I mentioned that some of us have rubbish immune systems, the response was "tough".:mad: I also got called a wimp for being off uni one day because I had a cold. When I get colds, my nose bleeds and it gets very blocked.

I've got a crap immune system and having colds for 2-3 weeks aren't fun. Neither is the fact that I spent about 90% of the last 3 months of last year ill.:(

I once gave my dad my cold. (which I got into trouble for - he's on medication; which can stop working if he takes other stuff) He ended up in A&E with a very bad chest infection.

sheeps68

Jojo_the_Tightfisted wrote: »

Yeah, I really appreciated it when 5 months pregnant with a compromised immune system, I came into contact with someone who had decided that her little angel's chickenpox was 'only a childhood illness' and presumably hadn't bothered washing her hands after doing the calamine lotion on the pustules.

After the customary incubation period, it was most interesting to find myself in A&E on oxygen, fighting for breath, the consultants more worried about me dying than whether the person concerned cancelled a s*dding outpatients appointment.

Just before I lost consciousness, I overheard them discussing whether there was an obstetrician on call able to do a section in A&E if I didn't make it, as it was too dangerous for the other mums and babies to take me down to maternity, and where there was a SCBU able to deal with a preemie with chickenpox within the air ambulance range.

But hey, at least she didn't cancel an appointment.

Chicken pox is very dangerous if you have immune system problems. I'm on steroids and could so easily get very scared of getting it again. Chicken pox = hospital for me too!I hope not to make the count of 6 chicken pox infections. Having said that I very much doubt people will ever understand the implications of getting what seems a simple infection if you have immunity issues. Maybe thats a good thing as it stops us all getting completely paranoid and makes me get on with living in the real world.

GlasweJen

Mupette wrote: »

Just goes to show that there are still idiots, yes idiots out there who are prepared to put others health at risk.

Yup, like people who no show at hospital appointments.

Children with chicken pox are meant to be at home recovering but unfortunately there are some idiots out there who think that once the spots have appeared their child is no longer contagious.

Also how can you go out with a flu? Flu lands you in bed for the duration.

Mupette

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.

Now we both have immune system problems, and you can see they are totally different,

GlasweJen wrote: »

I usually get to the hospital by bus, i'm not allowed to drive because of the black outs. I sometimes take someone with me but there aren't many people who fancy coming to the hospital at 8 in the morning on a smelly bus which is fair enough. When I go to pacemaker they do something that the technician calls "pacing backwards" to test some part of the machine and that makes me feel sick and usually I collapse when they do it. My uncle actually works as part of the cardiac team at the hospital though so they just page him and let us get on with it.

I could have died because of other peoples disregard for hospital appointments, I don't want a gold star, I just want to be able to attend the hospital within my recall period and for that to happen people need to stop wasting doctors time not whine about NHS policy when they've wasted 3 appointments with a very busy professional who appears to have a waiting list that's longer than the Clyde. There's probably some poor soul who would have killed to have one of those appointments and the opportunity to discuss their pain needs with a doctor like that.

You have a member of the family who works where you go, lucky you, so you get the help you need there. Apart from dragging my son out of school every time i needed to go to hospital/clinic I'd have the truant officer around knocking on my door

GlasweJen wrote: »

Yup, like people who no show at hospital appointments.

Children with chicken pox are meant to be at home recovering but unfortunately there are some idiots out there who think that once the spots have appeared their child is no longer contagious.

Also how can you go out with a flu? Flu lands you in bed for the duration.

Well we are not going to agree on this.
I am sorry that you feel this way, but I am not going to start going to appointments if i have something to spread, I have dragged my whinny !!!! to appointments and that won't stop, if i can get there I will, it's when I am ill with something that i can spread that i have concerns about.

You've said that because of people like me you almost died, because you did not receive your check up in the time scale you should of. I suspect that if i was in a waiting room with you and I was coughing and sneezing next to you, you would also have something to say about that.

What I don't understand is, if you were that ill, why did you not go to your gp who would of sent you to A & E for emergency treatment, who would of called on your consultant, (and uncle) who in turn would of seen you.

Oscar_The_Grouch

ceebeeby wrote: »

(5 gets you 10 it's so they didn't miss their tee off time),

:mad::mad: Evidence please!!! What a ridiculous and idiotic thing to say!

Oh dear! I seem to have created a bit of a stir!! I have had appointments delayed due to tennis before. Does that help or would you prefer me to send you the evidence in the form of a sworn statement?