I have always tried to post positively on here-- but I feel really annoyed and disgusted today. I know how fortunate I am to get the treatment I receive from my consultant , and specialist nurses and the appointment and admin team- they are all brilliant. I have been struggling of late after having to come off mthx and as I have started to get carple tunnel symptoms back I rang the helpline this morning. I spoke to the nurse who said that there wasn't a clinic today but if I went between 12 and 2 she would find a room to examine me. She did this and as I have a higher das score than I've ever had, she gave me a steroid injection.
On my way out o was saying how lucky I felt and how grateful I was. She replied---
"" I wish everyone felt like that---- we had 34 patients who didnt attend for consultant appointments last month - and 42 failed to show for blood tests. """"
Isn't that disgusting? ????
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Written by
Jacki08
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You are quite right it is disgusting - my local dentist charges £20 for a missed consultation without a really really good reason and if you miss 2 appointments without explaining why you get struck off their books. Perhaps the NHS should do the same - my RA team are also amazing - well said you
I agree Jacki, it's also bad manners, it takes no time to call them to cancel/rearrange an appointment! How would they feel if they were in their shoes? Maybe a friendly reminder notice or even something to the effect of 'X number failed to keep their appointment last month' would nudge a few to do just that? They had one in the waiting area of one department at the big hospital (blowed if I can remember which, it must have been cardio or gastro).
That said at my last bloods at the Surgery (at 9.40am) my nurse, who I know well as we worked together & who's chatty anyway went way beyond the norm 10 mins happily updating me on her daughter's situation (I did initiate it but didn't expect the whole shebang!). She told me that the rest of the appointments that day were for cervical screening, her second one was a no show & 4 more had cancelled so after me she had one more patient that morning. She intended organising her cupboards, obviously not the best use of her time!
The hospital I go to send you a text message a day or two before the appointment that says that each appointment costs the NHS £157, so please phone to cancel if you are unable to attend. There is also a sign up which gives the number of missed appointments the previous month - and the number is horrific! Given there's so much publicity about the problems the NHS has I really can't understand how people can be so selfish and uncaring.
I would personally name & shame people who fail to attend for no good reason.....
If I miss an appointment or cancel less than a day before I get a bill ! Here we are far more aware of what everything costs as the bills come to us and then we send on to our medical insurance. Everything is listed in minute detail -even how long the appointment is and charged accordingly.
Do remember in your indignation that some of those missed appointments will be because people did not receive them. I have received two letters in the past accusing me of not attending appointments that I have not ever received - and you can tell that people don't believe you when you ring to say so. I have also cancelled appointments (once when I was actually an in-patient and another time when I had already had the operation and been discharged from follow-up when I was sent an out patient appointment for review) and again received notification that I would not be sent another appointment as I "had failed to attend". So lack of communication and failures can also result in DNAs.
It is disgusting to be so cavalier with your own health and equally the time and resources wasted by not attending appointments, I agree it's just disgraceful.
However I do echo Old timer in her observations above as I got a snotty letter from my consultant also sent to my GP about me not turning up to a clinic appointment. Saying that I would be discharged if it happened again. All totally unfounded.
I was so livid that after phoning the admin team and sorting it out, I wrote by hand to the Consultant explaining their admin error and requesting a retraction from my health records and GP's files.
To give full credit my Consultant wrote back apologising.
No doubt this occasion will still be counted in the statistics and I wonder what proportion is actually made up from administrative errors?
It is disgusting why don't people keep appointments for their blood's it's in portent to keep up with them all i can say is they must be to ill to go to them I am know good in the morning so if i have appointments i try to get the latest they have as alot of the time it can take me along time to get out of bed and most of the morning i can feel unwell
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