Are there any other Members who are treated at The University Hospital Wales in Cardiff? What is your opinion of the service provided?

I am trying to get treatment for a flare up and at the moment have got nowhere despite an urgent fax to the hospital from my GP.

[earthwitch]

Sorry about that. Only thing I could suggest is reporting back to GP and saying you haven't heard anything yet. Or perhaps even phone the rheumatology secretary at the hospital and ask if they have received the fax from your GP.

[oldtimer]

You should have access to a rheumatology nurse there. Leave a message on the answerphone, she will ring you back to find out what's happening. She can discuss you with the consultant to make treatment changes, or arrange for you to be seen urgently.

[Hidden in reply to oldtimer]

I have tried this before, leaving numerous messages over more than 3 weeks. I got a reply 6 months later from a general nurse who had been tasked to look at the backlog on the machine. The consultant was not aware that the line did not go to the rheumatology nurse.

When did you use this service and how long did it take to get a reply?

[oldtimer]

it looks from your experience as if the Rheumatology nurse post is vacant then - the policy in Wales is to have at least one. I think you need to escalate your experience to a written complaint if you don't have that help.

I'm seen at Nevill Hall hospital now, and they have three part-time Rheumatology nurses. This causes some confusion as they don't always write down what you say on phone and what they have done, so you have to repeat it. But you SHOULD have access to one!

[Hidden in reply to oldtimer]

I looked online to see if the number had changed, it had not so, I tried it again today.

The message now says that it not for urgent cases but for information. If I needed to to be seen urgently I must do it through a referral from my GP.

I have already seen my GP and she was supposed to have faxed the rheumatologist asking for an urgent appointment. If she did it is not on my record. I now have to wait until tomorrow to talk to the Medical Secretary at my surgery to see if a referral has been made.

I think it is now time to assert my patient choice and ask for a referral to the Royal Gwent Hospital instead. It is three years now since I was diagnosed and it is a fight every time to get treatment when I need it. I never see the same specialist more than once and have to go through my medical history with them each time because they never read my notes.