Here is an example why appointments take so long

[sospan]

I have often wondered why there is such a delay in organising appointments, treatments and scans.

In early December 2020 my wife was diagnosed as visually impaired as a consequence of a car crash in December 2019. When you are placed in this category the consultant issues a Certificate of Visual Impairment (CVI). This is much like a blue badge and gives certain entitlements. Thought nothing more of it and assumed it would arrive in the post. Christmas and New Year came and went and a week later called the Eye department secretaries and they confirmed they had processed the form and it will be with me shortly. It still didn't arrive, I contacted patient services and then it all unravelled.

What I thought was a simple process - Doctor signs certificate we receive certificate, couldn't be further away.

1. After the consultation the notes and forms were sent from hospital 1 to hospital 2, Hospital 2 then sends the form to Hospital 3 which is in my home town

3. The notes and part complete CVI was processed by the secretaries in Hospital 3

4. These are then sent back to Hospital 2

5. Hospital 2 then sends it to my County Council Adult services which is in my home town.

6. Adult services then sends it to an outsourced appointment booking firm (also council employees!) also in my home town

7. The booking firm then record the information and book an appointment for an Adult Services Social worker to visit my wife.

8. The outsourced firm then return the pack to Adult Services in my home town.

9. Because of limited resources it typically takes 3 months for the Adult Services team to visit us to undertake and assessment and that either my wife or I can sign the VCI. The VCI apparently, is not valid until either my wife or I sign the form.

10. The Social Worker returns the form to the her team administrators

11. The Social care team then send the form back to Hospital 2

12, Hospital 2 then send a copy back to us.

Pre covid, this used to take 6 months+ from a doctor signing a certificate to the patient being in possession of it. In the Covid world there are no timescales apparently.

Yesterday,, while tracking the certificate down , I spoke to 14 people whom were involved in different steps in the process. I eventually managed to speak to the Social Worker in Adult Services whom suggested we meet up today to sign the form! Whilst she is at the back end of the process, she didn't understand why the patient needs to sign the form or indeed why the forms can't arrive signed.

All that movement, no wonder it takes so long to book appointments and no wonder records go missing and of course even though we are in 2021, it is still paper based not electronic.

What also rankles, is with all the issues with the NHS front line services we have all these people involved in a processes that are hardly patient focussed and more a job creation scheme.