Virtual Clinics

[AndyT]

I had my first consultant appointment by phone yesterday - bang on schedule, plenty of time to discuss everything we needed and much quicker and more convenient than spending 2 hours in a stuffy waiting room..!

This will be their standard format going forward, with face to face appointments also available if they or I feel that’s necessary and hopefully a move from phone to video calls before long.

Got a call 2 hours later from the pharmacy to book a drive through collection for my prescription on Monday and they would have arranged delivery if I couldn’t do that.

I’d always liked the idea of face to face appointments but have to say I’m now converted..!

[mhos61]

That sounds like good planning to me Andy, love the drive through pharmacy approach. I still haven’t collected my last prescription, as it involves going into the hospital. Fortunately, I have enough hydrea for a good bit yet, but sooner or later I’ll have to brave it.

Your hospital has always provided excellent quality care.

[Wyebird]

Yes I totally agree with you. I have found sitting in a waiting room for hours quite exhausting. I think maybe for the first few appointments ( as long necessary) face to face is beneficial as your face and just the way you walk can help to assess your wellbeing but then after that phone calls once your blood nurse/ doctor has got to know you.

I also think consistency is important and where possible you speak to a member of a small team of heamos.

[Ebot]

That’s good to hear. What about blood tests? They are my ‘markers’ in more than one sense. Reflecting, I think the blood results are often more important than the chat a lot of the time. (And I’m not sure what my other blood collection options would be. I have a nearer hospital but wouldn’t want to go there.)

[AndyT in reply to Ebot]

I still went to the phlebotomy room for my bloods on Wednesday. It’s a dedicated facility just for the haematology & oncology units, so not too busy and I was in and out within 10 minutes - plenty of masks, screens, sanitiser, distance markings etc..!

[Ebot in reply to AndyT]

And that point I think I’d rather wait 30 mins and see someone F2F. That I think is the dilemma.

[mhos61 in reply to Ebot]

Hi Ebot.

Have you asked your GPs surgery what preventive measures they are taking with regards to blood tests? You may be surprised at what they can offer you.

My husband had a ‘gentle reminder’ that he was overdue for his blood test, this was true because we were both so concerned with the Covid situation. I phoned the surgery and asked what preventative measures were in place for Shielding patients. I was genuinely surprised at their response, because it’s not the best surgery.

This was their plan:

Drive into the Drs car park after previously letting them know the make and model of the car. When ready for you, the nurse comes to your car to let you know. They had a room set aside for Shielding patients, it was half hour appointments between patients to give them time for sanitising. The nurse wore surgical gloves and a mask, patients are asked to wear a mask too and go in alone, I was quite impressed, particularly with the minimum time spent there, a few minutes!

I normally have my bloods done at the hospital, but after witnessing this operation I will be having my next blood test at the GPs surgery if they allow me to use the facility without the Shielding letter I never got🙄.

[Ebot in reply to mhos61]

My GP surgery generally don’t offer blood tests. Our nearest hospital has an efficient system - but no desire to go. :)) I have a second telephone consult with the Guy’s team in a couple of weeks. No mention of bloods last time and nothing said this time. We shall see. And if I go up to Guy’s for bloods then I might as well stay a bit longer and see someone. (We’re in London so the distance thing is all relative!)

Not overly bothered but this has made me think about the value (possibly misplaced and possibly emotional as much as anything else) I put on those test results.

[Jennytheb]

Hi, glad you liked your tele consultation. I do however feel that there should be at least one face to face appointment. After all gps in the most seem very unclued about ET as I experienced when trying to be diagnosed. I think that a Haematologist could detect possible changes in some of our appearance for instance that a gp could not. Just a theory but as you say, so much better than waiting in that room for our appointment, that makes me very jittery.

Take care

[AndyT in reply to Jennytheb]

I agree that face to face is sometimes needed, especially in early stages or if things seem to be changing.

I’m lucky that after 5 years on Peg my ET seems very stable and I have no symptoms or side effects, so virtual suits me fine at the moment

[hunter5582]

I also like the video appointments for many interactions. Being able to see each other on-line really makes a difference. It does not replace in-person appointments when the doc needs to be able to examine you, but it is way better than a telephone consult.

Glad to hear you had a positive experience

[JaK2ET]

It seems that you had a positive experience of your first "virtual consultation". I wasn't so lucky: my haematologist (whose clinics, in my experience so far, always run massively late) rang me at least half an hour before the appointed time and I was unable to take his call ...

I was alarmed to hear a few days ago on the news that the health authorities in this country (UK) are considering moving the NHS to a system in which telephone or video appointments with GPs or consultants will become the norm rather than the exception. Of course I can understand that, especially for relatively minor matters, such a change might save time, both for the doctors and their patients. However, there must be so many aspects of medical diagnosis and treatment where the doctor needs to see, hear, touch, even smell the patient, that could not be adequately addressed through telephone or even video appointments. My fear is that important signs and symptoms might be missed without a face-to-face engagement between doctor and patient. Also, as one who grew up in the age before ubiquitous mobile 'phones, computer screens, etc, I feel slightly uneasy about being visible on somebody else's screen - it seems a bit creepy! There are also potentially significant privacy and data protection issues. Recently I have been invited to join a number of "Zoom" meetings held, instead of the usual physical gatherings, by an organisation to which I belong; I haven't taken the plunge yet, partly because I haven't found the time to research around the privacy issue (are such meetings safe? - could they be abused by hackers? - etc).