I was diagnosed with asthma a year and a half ago, by my gp which was then confirmed by my nearby hospital, hospital A, who then basically when quiet. They are now saying this was an admin error.
Then three months or so when on holiday in the next county I had a nasty asthma attack and was taken to large hospital, hospital B with a big asthma unit. I have been under the care of a respiratory nurse there for the last few months which has gone well.
The respiratory nurse referred me a month ago, to a consultant specialising in severe asthma, at hospital B. He accepted the referral and said he was happy to take me, however he asked hospital A for my notes. Hospital A have then said I should be referred back to them, as hospital B is outside my area.
So now I have been referred back to my local hospital, hospital A, who have said they want to put me on a waiting list for a Feno test and basic spirometry, to check the asthma diagnosis, ie check their own original diagnosis, the GP diagnosis, and hospital Bs diagnosis. It will be my 4th asthma diagnosis.
Last time I was on this waiting list it took 4 months for a basic spirometry test, and one month for the results.
I have no need for a feno test anyway as I have had three feno tests at hospital B in the last three months, and basic spirometry with them is just fev and fvc. Fev I can do on my own spirometer, so I do not need this anyway.
Is there any way I can get myself back to hospital B?
Putting me back to hospital A just is going to delay everything by a minimum of six months.
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Homely2
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Ugh, that's frustrating! I know the NHS has a lot of pressures at the moment which they can't help, but honestly, this kind of thing isn't helping anyone - the hospital, the staff or patients!! And I don't really understand why they'd want to add to their waiting list to repeat all the tests for what seems to be no good reason.
I'm reasonably sure you should be able to choose, particularly if hospital B has specialist services you have been using that hospital A doesn't. Which it sounds like it does if you're seeing a severe asthma specialist and they have an actual asthma unit - that kind of hospital can't be found everywhere, and some people travel quite a way to get to one if they've been accepted!
Did hospital B not say anything? Would your GP help? I don't know why no one questioned the sanity of this and just did the referral back to hosp A - have you been discharged from B or still technically under them? You can be with more than one trust at once eg a local and a specialist hospital. I don't know why that also isn't an option, except that hosp A sounds really unhelpful and I don't see the point of them claiming you given B was happy to accept you, if you don't want to be under A as well.
It might also be worth giving the asthma nurses a call on Monday - they often have practical advice about this kind of thing: 0300 2225800 or WhatsApp 07378 606 728 Monday-Friday 0915-5pm
I would ask hospital B if you are still on their books. If so then speak to PALS at hospital A and ask for a copy of notes to be sent to hospital B. If they won’t then simply tell PALS you want a copy of your medical notes as you wish to make a complaint. You then should be sent a copy which you can forward to hospital B.
There is absolutely no reason why you can’t be seen at hospital B. For years I was treated by Royal Brompton which was not my more local hospital. I even travelled several hundred miles to have tests at a hospital in the north who carried out specialist tests. All that took was a simple referral from my gp.
If for some reason hospital B has discharged you, simply ask gp to refer you back to their services.
Gp prescribed me a basic spirometer when I was first diagnosed.
Hospital gave me a lovely manual one by clement Clarke last time I was admitted
I bought an electronic one from microlife as well, as it also does fev1, which I am interested in to see if it predicts my asthma better than peakflow.
You need to be aware of titles. I call them all spirometers.
However the basic manual ones are normally called peakflow meters.
The electronic ones are normally called spirometers. However the spirometers we can buy have less functionality than the big ones the NHS uses for its formal tests
I had the same problem a few years back. My local hospital objected to my being treated at RBH in London and told me I had to choose between them! Well RBH is a tertiary hospital with no emergency facilities so obviously I need the local one to be involved too, but their standard of care is nowhere near RBH. I refused, and also spoke to my consultant at RBH, who emailed the local one & told them dual care is common & they needed to put my interests first! Result was an apology from local consultant & agreement that RBH would be my principal hospital and the local one would help me when necessary & take instructions from RBH. So my advice is, don’t take this lying down!
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