Transfer To A New Waiting List?

[Peakoverload]

I won't bore you all with the details of my ongoing saga with my local hospital but suffice to say that they have been abysmal in terms of communication and waiting times and I now have zero confidence in them. I had a cardioversion in August 2023 which only lasted 3 weeks and was told I would need an ablation instead and have been waiting ever since despite my record being stamped as urgent. I had been assured I would have had it by October this year at the latest.

Anyway, I got a phone call from the hospital today saying that they had a last minute cancellation and asked if I could come in today to have it done. There is no way I could do this, there is so much going on at the moment and so I had to decline it. I did ask though when they thought I would be seen and they said that they believed it would be next year now!

Here's the problem. One of the reasons why I couldn't have it done today is because we are in the process of selling our house and in the run up to Christmas we have to do some repairs, sort through everything, clear our loft and garage etc etc. There is a small chance that we might move before Christmas but its most likely to be in January. However, we are moving nearly 200 miles away and so won't be in the catchment area of my current local hospital.

So, how do I get transferred to a hospital in my new location and would that mean I join the bottom of the waiting list again and end up waiting another year+?

[BobD Volunteer]

Declining a cancellation is always a dangerous thing to do though I did manage to get mine delayed a week so I could "put my house in order" once. Moving to a different health authority will also guarantee that you will start again with any waiting list remembering that first you need to see the consultant and get their agreement to the procedure. Obviously your choice at this complicated time in your life but 200 miles is nothing in the grand scheme of things and I think I would in your shoes stay with your EP and travel for the procedure when it happens. (I live in Devon but all my treatments including PM clinic are in London)

[mjames1]

Here is a recent thread that you might find helpful.

Jim

healthunlocked.com/afassoci...

[Rainfern]

Sods Law. Hard luck being in the middle of all that stressful house moving stuff! I think you’ve done the right thing putting off the ablation. In my experience successful recovery has a great deal to do with the opportunity to completely rest and relax. House moving is notoriously stressful! When you’ve moved I would get an appointment with a private EP who will be able to best advise you. It may be that where you’re moving to will have a shorter waiting list. Good luck and take things easy if that’s possible.

[Peony4575]

Are last minute cancellation phone calls a common thing ?

[OceanPaddler]

Declining a short notice cancellation will not affect your place in the queue on the waiting list. If you move hospital, you will be at beginning of new waiting list. I had a short notice cancellation for first ablation. I asked to be listed for this.

[Redactrice]

What awful timing. For what it's worth, I was also on a waiting list (at Southampton) for ablation and was also told it would be 9+ months. Two months after going on the waiting list, I was offered an ablation at another hospital approx 30mi further away. It was relatively short notice, just a few weeks, but I was able to take it. I had assumed the reason for the long wait was lack of staff but was told no, it's due to shortage of beds/operating theatres.

I think it's good advice to stay on your current local waiting list even if it means travelling, unless travel imposes a significant additional burden. You are probably aware that you will need someone to pick you up post-ablation and escort you home.

Good luck. I hope you get a short-notice-but-not-quite-last-minute phone call that allows you to accept.

[Peakoverload]

Thanks all for your replies and advice. If they had given me a couple of days notice I could perhaps have had time to make arrangements but they literally phoned at 8:30am and said "can you come in right now?" Apart from the practical side of things, I wasn't mentally prepared for it. I've no idea what to expect in terms of recovery, and yes I've read up on it but everyone is different, and my EP (I don't even know if he is an EP or if he's a cardiologist) only works 1 day a week in my hospital and rarely responds to any questions and I've only spoken to him twice in 2 years.

I would LOVE to go to another hospital but feel caught between a rock and a hard place. On the one hand I have absolutely no faith or confidence in my existing EP/Hospital but I will probably get an ablation sooner with them. On the other, I could perhaps go to another hospital when I move and get better treatment but that might mean waiting another year and who knows if they will be any better (can't be any worse though). All the while I'm being told the longer you are in AF the less chance there is that an ablation will work and I've been in constant AF for a year now.

I was only diagnosed with AF about 18-24months ago but I now believe I may have had Paroxysmal AF for anything up to 5 years before this but my GP always just told me it was anxiety even though I kept telling them I didn't feel anxious (I've had PVC's for around 30 years which was originally brought on by stress and now every GP thinks I'm a bag of nerves the whole time even though I'm not). They did do ECG's etc but each time they did them I wasn't having the episodes I was feeling (rapid heart rates) and so they wouldn't believe what I was telling them.

If I had the money I would go private but that's just not an option for me financially.

[Ossie7]

Morning , as Jim said in his reply you could get a private assessment only in your new home and then be transferred onto NHS waiting list for ablation . A lot of us on here have done this , myself included a couple of times . Good luck with the move , a very stressful time , so plenty of time out for relaxation for you xx