Wait Time for Specialist in London

[Plew]

Hey all,

I've been a bit back and forth on the phone with the surgical department at Homerton in London. I have been hinted at various wait times, most of the time they just say they aren't allowed to give estimates. But if anyone has seen a Dr. C.B in Homerton how long was your wait? (I was hinted that it could be a year or longer) I was also just removed from the cancellation list I asked to be put on by a nurse who was quite mad that I got on it when others have been waiting longer than me. Which I am now confused about as well since there were no issues when I asked to be put on it in the first place.

Thanks lovelies!

[Estyp]

Hi, I've been under Mr Barnick for a while although never actually seen him (but there's a couple of specialists in the clinic) my gp referred me for mri then my appointment at homerton was 6 weeks after that to discuss the results. That appointment wasn't nice at all - Barnick was called away and I ended up seeing a doctor who wasn't an endo specialist who scared the hell out of me. It took a while after that to finally see a specialist, I had to get my gp to refer me again and I called to make sure that it would be a different doctor who could actually help and explain the mri properly. That appointment was another 3 or 4 months later (Jan 2019) then he asked me to think about getting a lap and see how I got on with the coil, I was then referred for laparoscopy at an appointment in July 2019 and I'm still on the waiting list, was told I should have my surgery by the end of October but not heard a word yet.

I called up last week and was told the list is longer than expected and it would be another few months at least. 😔 All in all I think I've been at homerton for 18 months but it does take a while to get seen. I'm happy with the care there though, when you think 1 in 10 women have endo and it's London you can imagine how busy it will be.

I know how hard it is playing the waiting game, hope you're finding ways to deal with your pain. The mirena Coil has been a life changer for me!

For me the worst but was the 2-3 years of constant Doctor visits with them consistently ignoring my symptoms and misdiagnosing, I feel so lucky I got a locum one day with some endo experience - her decision to send me to mri changed everything. At least now I know I'm on the right track to getting my pain in control.

I hope this info helps?

[Plew in reply to Estyp]

That is so helpful! Thank you so much. That's horrible you had to keep going back for so long. I'm so sorry you were scared by another doctor, that shouldn't have happened. I had the same thing in terms of being told it was IBS or in my head. I also didn't see Dr. B but I saw his fellow and he was great. I am happy with the care I just wanted to get an idea of the wait time since I seem to always be told something different. I was told people who were seen in may will still be waiting a while (I was seen at the beginning of August after transferring care from another hospital for Dr. B). That might also give you an idea. I am dealing alright with pain. Its been causing issues in a personal sense and working out now hurts quite a lot, I get some weird stretched feeling on my right lower side). I did try the coil but had to have it removed as it caused more pain! So you're very lucky there!

I don't mind waiting, I know London is the hub for endo specialists. I am in my masters and it's hard telling them I have no idea when I'll need a week off for surgery! Fingers crossed we get in soon! Good luck with everything! Xx