After 2 A+E admissions in late 2024 for multiple AF bouts I was told I would get Holter monitor and consultant appointments within 8 weeks. My doctor chased both for me, no joy. I phoned up and got the monitor appointment for 2 days later. 2 weeks later still no word on consultant appointment so I call them."Oh they have you down as "Routine" - waitlist is 12 months for consultation. " (Then currently circa 35 weeks for treatment.)
UK (NHS Scotland) sufferers, is this typical?
Thinking of going private ( no insurance as I foolishly placed my trust in a lifetime of contributions) . Any recommendations in Scotland central belt or Newcastle, Manchester. 🫤
Written by
Col-Callan
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Can you ask to be referred to the Freeman in Newcastle? I think the wait time for a routine appointment is about 12 weeks. There are several Cardiologists and EP's and have clinics most days. I've had excellent care since I started with them in 2022. Good luck
We also have some pretty long standard waits in Grampian, but there's some kind of priority system which baffles me. I got a pre-ablation echo almost straight away.
What period is the Holter for? And would an NHS Holter output be accessible to a private EP? Just some thoughts. Good luck.
I'm going to ask my doctor for the Holter trace when I speak to him. I assume this is treated as patient "information" and therefore Ive a right to access. Tbh the appointment system appears tobe the problem . At one stage they said they didn't have record of me. And to date there's still no discharge letter from a&E from my December "visit".
Had the Holter for 24 hrs (and I threw in a 30 mins gym treadmill run in that for them. 🤣)
One thing to be aware of is there’s Cardiologists and then there’s Electrophysiologists (EP) - if you decide to go private then you would be better to spend your hard earned cash on an appointment with an EP as they specialise in heart arrhythmias - especially atrial fibrillation.
We're in Glasgow and paid to go private at Ross Hall Hospital - with Consultant
Dr Gary Wright - he has great reviews and we found him to be a very knowledgeable, helpful and thoroughly nice man who explained everything very clearly and is at the top of his game when it comes to treating Afib.
He recommended my husband have an MRI and we're so glad he did as we then discovered that unbeknown to us (or the medical professionals my husband had previously seen) he'd actually had a silent heart attack and this had resulted in scarring within the heart and had also damaged the heart muscle as it isn't pumping properly!
Without seeing this man my husband would have been living in ignorance and simply taking the apixiban blood thinners the hospital doctor had prescribed for his Afib!!!!
When you consider what we pay these days for holidays etc - I would say it's definitely worth going private if you can afford it - especially when you look at the huge waiting lists on the NHS.
Who knows how long we'd have waited on the NHS waiting list to find out about the damage to my husband's heart - it was a huge shock to discover he'd had a heart attack- we thought it was just the Afib which was causing him to be so tired and breathless!!
Have to say that we felt a bit guilty for jumping the NHS queue ...... but then the nurse we spoke to reminded us that we're actually freeing up an appointment on the NHS for someone else to use.
That is much appreciated, - and I do hope all has progressed well for you both since. I've been reading "The Haywire heart" recommended by another kind forum member, and it has steered me by my needs to the EP "side" of the consultants.
The scarring issue is also a consideration from my current running and previous sports. So many thanks for your message it's a great help and even better to know there is help just up the M74 ! 👍❤️
To generalise, you have to be firm with diplomacy, double check and think well ahead when dealing with the NHS these days. All not ideal but needs must.
I am certainly finding this to be true. Have a great doctor fighting my corner but I do feel the system as opposed to the people is the issue. Everyone I've met along this journey have been fantastic and v professional. But (as a former IT systems Prog Manager) you can tell when people are working with flawed systems either tech or procedurally. Wouldn't have the health provision here in UK any other way, just fit for purpose.
Oh Dear! Oh Dear!Things have definitely gone downhill and I sympathise with you.
Back in the olden days (2010) I also ended up in A+E (Dumfries, Scotland) Soon saw a cardiologist (perfect working order) had a Holter for 24 hours (nothing) then Holter for a week (nothing) - time passed with AF becoming permanent but with occasional faints and blackouts - ended up with an implanted Loop Recorder that reported in every night. When the ILR confirmed heart stoppages of up to 14 seconds I was scheduled for a pacemaker immediately (4 days actually). My PM was also continuously monitored (reports in every night) and replaced after 7.5years (some last up to 10) and looking forward to my next one.
I hope that you get sorted soon - but as people frequently point out you need to keep chasing.
P S - I never had or was offered ablation or cardioversion and marvel at how many times people get these treatments. We are all different and you need to ensure that your needs and concerns are addressed....
DGRI? We must be relative neighbours! (Moffat) The irony is that today I am having my first bout of AF since mid Jan (and not had a drop of the sauce has touched my lips since the same date) So my alcohol trigger theory has gone out of the window.
3 hrs in and it's easing 🙂. ( Actually think the 2 coffees have steadied the ship, but they were coincident with my meds time).
Yes, I agree how the uniqueness of how the condition presents is ironically a common factor, and it would seem so are levels of treatment.
I am going to see what strings my doctor can pull and take a view. If consultancy stays at 12m I suspect I shall be raiding the pension fund and go private.
I've now been waiting 2 years for what they consider a routine appointment. My GP's chased it up twice- he obviously doesn't think it's routine. Get on their cancellation list.
A private consultation will cost around £200 and I found this well worthwhile. That said, unless further investigations can be done on the NHS, the costs will rapidly mount to around £1200 for an echo scan and c. £2k for a cardiac MRI. In the very unlikely event that any ischaemia or structural heart problems are found, then other scans might be needed add to this.
If your symptoms are not hard to cope with, AF in itself will most usually do you no harm unless you need anticoagulation which your GP should know all about.
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Hooray hooray got my appointment today!
