Had my long awaited appointment today and the first thing I was asked by the consultant was ‘what do you want from this appointment?
Well call me an idiot but I wanted help, reassurance and his expertise! And what I got was a request for my Kardia ecg s pdf , he said I’ll send you a blank email so you can reply to me …….nothing so now I’ve got to ring back tomorrow to find out his email and I’m no farther on , I know we have COVID and long waiting lists etc but what the heck ……….I feel so let down
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Hazel1010
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Hi Hazel, I'm sorry to hear of your experience, that must be so frustrating for you. I can sympathise, as I've recently had a less than satisfactory telephone consultation with a cardiologist too, after waiting months for the appointment to come through. I think that sometimes, as AF is so common, dealing with patients with the condition is so routine for them that maybe they forget how frightening it can be for us as individuals and how much we would appreciate a bit of reassurance .I do hope you are able to get that email address tomorrow and a more helpful response will be forthcoming once he's seen your Kardia readings.
I know 🤷🏻♀️ He asked why a was at a&e 1/10/21 and I explained that my symptoms had gone on for hours and showed no sign of going etc , he seemed very bored asked how I knew and I said how did I know , I said I had a Kardia and he asked for the print outs to be emailed so he could see them and then didn’t send me his email , im no further on yet again
Unfortunately, I think you may be right John. More far reaching though, I feel the way the government has handled Covid captured by Big Pharma has caused a widespread breakdown in trust of regulatory authority. Too early to say whether this will be a good or bad thing in the future!
Hi Hazel, most of us here are of the generation that expect more from doctors. My experience is you have to steel yourself to ask tough questions and challenge the answers where necessary. I had to bypass my GP, change cardiologists, dismiss the EP suggestion and pay privately to see a new cardio promptly. It has been worth it. Best wishes.
I have already been to spire as for 2 months my doctor tried to get a monitor for me to wear and I had a snotty secretary from the hospital tell me there was no record of the request although it came from cardiology consultant originally, so far I’ve paid out £930 …….and then I got slated for jumping the que 😡
Ignore anyone who slates you off.Its your body not theirs.You have to fight for everything health wise now.People on here ,myself included will agree with you.I for one am totally with you.Best wishes .
My son in law needed a digital rectal prostate examination. The receptionist offered him a telephone appointment!! He had to explain it was rather like her having a cervical smear over the phone. Where are they coming from! 🙄😬
Hi Hazel1010, I am sorry to hear of your recent experience, if you or anyone would like some advice or information that could be helpful ahead of a long awaited appointment, you may find some helpful questions in our patient resources, available to download from heartrhythmalliance.org/afa...
No it is a serious comment. Read the rules . This is a board for discussion of AF , not what anyone thinks about this or any other government Also comments should not be offensive as the inclusion of the word "goddam," in the reply to my comment infers.
The Forum is here to focus on support, advice and sharing experiences of their medical condition. Please refrain from the use of bad language or political content. With this in mind, these comments will be deleted from the discussion. Kind Regards, Admin
Whoooaaaa there people …..I didn’t mean to start a war and I think we can all appreciate that under the circumstances many of us are left frustrated by the situation over the last few years ………I’m assured a visit to Peppa Pig land will sort us all out so chill and stay friends
Hi Hazel, I can see both points of view. The person you are consulting does need some questions to work on. I once posted a very helpful guide to medical consultations copied from the net so if you go to my profile you can read it if you go back far enough.
That helped me to prepare for my telephone consultation with a cardiologist which went really well, best I’ve ever had, though I’m sure the nature of the cardiologist helped a lot. I asked why I couldn’t have the usual antiarrhythmics and if there was any other option, when to go to A&E, and if a pacemaker would be helpful. I also explained why I was not keen to have another ablation.
You do need to explain what you need help with and reassurance about and why you need his expertise. Doctors of all sorts tend to be intensely practical people and in the present circumstances hand holding is rarely on offer, sadly. My husband just bought a ‘vintage’ (80s) book about a country doctor who is all the things we wish for but don’t get 😢
I paid for a phone appointment last year and felt it was poor. In fact, it’s time to stop this silliness in my view. Many people are being very badly let down.
That said a Kardia or Apple Watch ECG trace is primary evidence that the cardiologist will find really useful, I’m sure. From that he or she will be well placed to comment in detail.
It is always worth considering what you want to get from an appointment whether it's a telephone appointment or face-to-face. You can always say "I wanted to get the benefit of your knowledge and experience to advise me how best to treat my condition". A little bit of flattery never does any harm!
Hoping you can get the help you need. Whether some of us try to be as pleasant with the Drs or not, some of them are like robots. It makes me wonder why they bother to go into medicine at all. It seems it's still harder for a woman to get the help she needs. We are still treated like we are stupid hysterical beings. So frustrating. Stand your ground. And push back until you get some satisfaction. Take care and be safe.
I had exactly the same with my consultant who said 'what do you want me to do'!!! After an extremely unsatisfactory conversation when following me saying that I had been on amiodarone before and how bad the side effects were, he told me to wear a 'straw floppy hat with a flower on it'. I then researched and found another consultant. All be it I paid for a private consultation, but he was so understanding, explaining the whole AF problem to me and recommending a solution which I have taken. I am now on his NHS waiting list for a pace and ablate.My advice is look elsewhere if you are not happy with your consultant. After all we only have one heart and if someone is going to be working on it I want to have faith that they respect me as a human being and also know what they are doing.
Good luck and I hope you find a really good solution.
I always say Drs like that should go dig ditches somewhere. Glad you found help. But it's hard for those who can't afford private Drs. It's an unfair system all over the world. 😞Take care and be safe.
hi rubyr61 i too had this problem with c dr he phoned me december 2019and discharge me over the phone and i told him i was happy as i have a mechanical mitra valve AF heart failure it didnt matter so in feb when i was having problems i asked for another appoinment and saw is side kick she put me on bisoporol and spirolactose not good enough in march i was taken into hospital after my gp stopped my bisoparol to low pluse 40bpm and then in hospital i was told the spirolactose had damage my kidneys so still stuggling to breath i put in a complaint to PALS he then had to phone me so i told him i wanted a new dr at least this Dr appears to be reading my records though dragging his heels in writing letters 5 weeks and he thinks that is ok . i have recently been told by an nhs worker that all drs are reguired to do are 3 sessions a week (3 half days )£90.000 to £120.000 not bad and you can quess what they are doing the rest of the time but of course they are using covid as the reason
Honestly it’s crazy I’m not a rude or impatient person and all I and you wanted was a bit of help from an expert , I feel like an old nuisance that should just go away…….
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Telephone Consultation 
Going ahead with ablation consult
Going private for a consultation 
Telephone consultation with GP.
Update to private cardiology consultation.
