At the end of last September I had an issue which ended up in a stay in hospital. My ECG's were clear . I had high BP whilst in hospital and I was discharged with bisoprolol and told I would be seen in clinic in two months following 2 tests, but no appointment was given. I have since had a treadmill stress test and told I am on the list for an echocardiogram but no appointment for this or to see consultant.
The bisoprolol is making me extremely tired and gives me headaches but GP will not discuss it as I am still waiting to see consultant.
I live in Derbyshire and as it is now nearly 5 months since my episode. can anyone advise how long I will have to wait? I know I am not an emergency case at the moment and there are many worse than me but I just want to know what I can do to help myself avoid further issues.
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Pizzamaker
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Depends very much on the health authority and the availability of staff and equipment. I attended out-patient Cardiology on November 21, was offered the fitting of a heart monitor on December 23 and had an ECG on February 11. All very routine, as part of an annual check up on the heart valve fitted in July 2023. Unlike with the various scans I had before my op, I was very laid back about it all and didn't think there would be a problem. And so it proved, according to the lady who conducted the ECG.
I suggest you ring the hospital where you are being treated, to find out where you are in the queue. That will give you the most accurate up to date answer, the rest is guesswork. Contact either the cardiology dept secretary who will be able to direct you to someone to help or the appointments team. I have done that in the past and got an appointment over the phone. And if you don't get fixed up and you are able to attend at short notice, offer yourself up to go on the cancellations list if they run one. I am afraid you have to keep checking up on these things nowadays, especially since it is not unknown for the NHS to lose you.
Hi there, my advice is that you need to go back to the doctors and make sure they have put your refural through to see the cardiology consultant. When I had my first echo in March 2023, they sent me a letter out to me about 3 weeks later to explain the findings, shortly followed by a ct scan 2weeks later. I didn't get to see the cardiology consultant until March 2024 to discuss the results, have you received a letter at all about your results?
Hi Piazzamaker, this is only my experience but in my case started with palpitations, was seen by GP who referred me for holter and echo after waiting over a month (wasn’t expecting to get an appointment straight away) but was told it would have been at least another 15 weeks before I would have heard anything - so I went private for me 250 pounds well spent rang up a private clinic I was seen within two days received my result 2 days later, sorry I just could not wait worrying all that time - I hope you hear something soon - the best thing I think would be to ring outpatient appointments they will give you at least an idea of the waiting time. Take care 😊
Are you waiting for Stepping Hill, Chesterfield or Derby hospitals? I'd either contact the consultant who saw you, or go via PALs and ask if this is a usual wait time. Good luck.
The waiting time for an Echo differs per region , in some it can be as much as 16weeks.Basically, though if you haven't received a letter confirming that you are on the list for an Echo yet telling you the approximate waiting time , you do need to ring through to Cardiology and chase it up , it might have fallen through the cracks.
Even if you have received a letter , if you don't receive an appointment within 12 weeks for a non emergency Echo and Consultants assessment , you should ring to remind them you are waiting for an appointment date and just say how long it's been and say you've rang to double check if a date has been sorted out but you've missed a letter. The Secretary will check , then if you aren't on the list you can politely query why it's been so long and how much longer approximately before you will get an appointment date.
Generally, calling like that pushes them into action , reminds them that you exist and have waited too long and they get an appointment out to you pretty quickly.
I would ring the consultant's secretary and explain the problems you have with bisopralol and ask for his advice. This is something your GP could easily do. If you get no answers, try PALS, patient liaison to see if they can investigate the delay.
I gave up waiting for the NHS and had one done privately. It was in my estimation a reasonable cost, £375, but then not all our pockets are the same size.
It’s was done within a week of me calling the private company and the EP who conducted the echo himself gave me a consultation on the results straight afterwards. If you get an echo done on the NHS it is normally a 3 week wait or more in my experience to get the results, and that is one of the most infuriating waits on the planet.
I found the private company with a simple google search on private echocardiogram, but the one I used is Hampshire/Surrey based so I had a 2 hour travel by car to get to them. They actually did it on a Saturday morning which suited me perfectly.
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