Well there's a surprise

[Qualipop]

I was in hospital a fortnight ago with a very bad arrhythmia . Since coming home I was allergic to the meds I was given, contacted my GP and after several messages between my wonderful GP and cardiologist it was decided I need no medication and the arrhythmia should be ok because it happens only very infrequently ( 6 moths ago was the last time).

Then on Saturday I got a letter with an appointment to go to the 'cardiology test clinic' on August 3rd. It didn't say who had made the appointment or why. Prior to the hospital episode one of my GPs had said she would arrange to speak to cardio because my pain consultant needed a report so I assumed it was her . I rang the surgery to find out , thinking it may not now be necessary since I'd actually seen cardio.and got a reply that , NO it wasn't her; it was arranged by the hospital on my discharge.

Why on earth don't they tell you what they are planning when you are discharged?

I was given a printed discharge summary that just said "extra systolic arrhythmia and unstable angina." The cardiologist has since said it's very likely that I didn't have angina. I didn't have a clue what the arrhythmia meant and had to google it; I only saw the cardiologist for about 4 minutes and had no chance to even think let alone ask questions and now I haven't a clue why I have to go to the test clinic.

It was such a waste of my and my GP's time having to try to find out who arranged this appointment. CArdiology seems particularly bad at giving you information unless you specifically ask. After my heart attack I didn't even see a cardiologist to actually speak to.

[Tos92]

Hi Qualipop

I have previously been sent out letters for appointments without knowing which doctor requested it. I then found out, that depending on who you see when you go to A&E, it is sometimes a locum doctor who is filling in where they don’t have enough staff to cover the shifts. As a result, this particular locum doctor may have left by the time your appointment comes around and then your details get passed onto another cardiologist or doctor for interpretation and intervention. So if you cannot locate who asked for them, it might be a possibility it was locum doctor.

The good thing however is, they are doing all the necessary checks so that’s a positive.

Good luck for the appointment and let us know how it goes.

Tos

[Qualipop in reply to Tos92]

No this was definitely done by the cardiologist I saw on the ward, Just surprised and a bit annoyed that he never mentioned any follow up even though he later had two discussions with my GP

[Tos92 in reply to Qualipop]

Perhaps after being discharged, and after a chance to re-review your notes again, they decided on adding another test which isn’t a bad thing I’m sure.

[Qualipop in reply to Tos92]

NO, this was booked after he'd discussed things with my GP and had decided no treatment was necessary. I will go to it anyway.