Cardiology appointment

[Platypus6]

I have been referred to cardiology for an urgent appointment been told by the booking system at Shrewsbury there is a three month wait! Any one else having to wait this long in there areas?

[Maisiemay13]

Hi yes I was told 16 weeks I live in Essex

[Platypus6 in reply to Maisiemay13]

Not on my own then

[MichaelJH Heart Star]

My first appointment with the Urgent Chest Pain Clinic took an incredible 6 weeks! I was then told there was a four month wait for angiograms.

You do not mention why. As I recall you had an event some months ago so are on the radar. Unfortunately with stretched resources this is pretty much the norm these days.

[Calliope153 in reply to MichaelJH]

Same here in the south west. Rang for an appointment requested by the cardiologist "within 6 to 8 weeks" they had the letter six weeks ago but said September at the earliest. I have asked if they could put me on the list for any cancellations... the system can't cope with the numbers.

On a slightly different note: my cardio rehab class permanently runs at 37, As soon as anyone leaves their place is filled for the next session.The waiting list is yards long.

[MichaelJH Heart Star in reply to Calliope153]

My rehab was full all the time. I had to miss a couple because of conflicting appointments and got a verbal warning - but my view was medical appointments take priority as rearranging can be a nightmare and cause long delays!

[Platypus6 in reply to MichaelJH]

It seems everywhere, I am sure they are stretched to the limit.

[Lucy_Hall in reply to MichaelJH]

My first reaction was to think if the so called 40-70 checks were offered to everyone, many problems could be identified earlier and less critical situations occur. Then I thought that won’t happen because it will clog the system up even more. The bottom line is the lack of resources and how that’s resolved is anyone’s guess. On a personal level, my experience has been very positive so far, despite learning the new definition of ‘urgent’.

[Boharford]

Back in January I was told 2 month wait for stents and angio was then put to end of May. At one pint I checked with a hospital in Worcester in April and was told I could have a choice of dates after a 2 week wait. Obviously Hospitals vary!

[bantam12]

Four months wait to see the EP at my local hospital 😕

[Platypus6 in reply to bantam12]

Crikey it’s crazy, so overstretched

[Heather1957]

I think it is pretty well known that heart disease is on the up therefore waiting time is longer. Worrying as this is, it is a fact that urgent has a different meaning when it comes to heart issues.

[Zac11]

It needs to be said that the only solution to this disgraceful situation of lack of resources is to vote Labour at the next general election. These delays were rare in 2010. It is simply a matter of political will. The NHS is definitely not safe in Conservative hands.

[Prada47 in reply to Zac11]

Sorry Zac,

It doesn't matter who you vote for take the SNP more left than Labour, and it's 16 weeks Cardiology wait in Aberdeen

[Dorrymt in reply to Zac11]

It won't make any difference for at least another 5 years. Just before George Brown was ousted, he cancelled a huge number of training places for Drs. It takes a minimum of 11 years to train a consultant. Two of my grandchildfþen are Drs and found it so hard to find training places. Priority was, under Labour to give places to people from under privileged backgrounds. Commendable but not always sensible given the family support needed for that many years.

Here in West Suffolk we have a state of the art new cardiac centre just opened this year. I understand money came from car park fees to help fund this.

[Saltysailer in reply to Zac11]

Wales NHS run by labour . We will be lucky to have any hospitals left West of Cardiff in a few years

[Johnboy64]

Try calling your local PALS department at the hospital. They may be able to help.

[angedogs]

I am with the same health authority as you but I go to the Telford hospital. When I was originally booked in (as urgent) I was seen within two weeks but it was through the rapid access pain clinic. Since then I have never had to wait more than a few weeks. Could you perhaps ask if the waiting time in Telford is shorter?

[Platypus6]

I will ask, I found Telford much better when I was taken into a&e with chest pains, when I had my ha 8 weeks ago I was in a&e at Shrewsbury in a corridor for 16 hours!

[derby1884]

I must be very lucky - was seen the same day I was referred and operated on 72 hours later. I'm in Scotland, however. Perhaps our NHS system isn't subject to the same degree of backlog experienced in England?

[Jaggie21]

Same here in Blackburn - 3 months wait to be seen by cardiologist.