Excellent service

[Whatsisname]

I am a PV patient and I had my last hospital phone consultation in July, at which time my FBC was ok, but HCT on 0.46. Had I been in the clinic I probably would have had a venesection then and there, however my consultant decided to continue with Pegasys and defer a venesection until my next appt on 2 October. However me being a bit twitchy, on my own initiative I obtained a further FBC from my GP practice on 18 August; HCT then had risen to 0.475. Accordingly I emailed my consultant haemo suggesting an prompt venesection with which he agreed and responded with an appt for venesection today.

I was first in clinic which was empty, at 8.20. No fuss or bother, and half an hour later, was out of the hospital. I did not see my consultant, but then there was no pressing need; I will still see him on 2 October.

Given the current Covid situation, I cannot fault this service, and I guess I do have a very good relationship with my consultant, but I think the message is that it does pay one to be proactive if you want to look after yourself.

[john0084]

Nice to hear a positive response.

[hunter5582]

Glad to hear you paid attention to your instincts and rechecked the HCT. Likewise glad to hear you had good service getting the venesection done. We really do have to stay on top of things despite the COVID crisis. Out healthcare systems are not always going to stay on top of what we need to it is more critical than ever to advocate for ourselves.