Hi there everyone just wondering about your views on this?
I have been having yearly checks at hospital for 15 yrs, but now my liver shows extensive cirrhosis the consultant was concerned and asked to see me every 6 months from now on including ultrasounds and fibroscans before every appt.
My appts were always getting cancelled. Prior to this a yearly appt became 22 months cause they kept cancelling them.
So was now waiting for my 6 month appt and that's been cancelled today......so I have written a letter of complaint. Don't know if I'll get anywhere but so frustrated!!
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spoul
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good for you did you write to the BMA or the hospital administrator ?
My 6 to 12 month appointment is now at 16 months, I asked my GP should I ring up the hospital and shout and he just said I will do your bloods so we are covered, but thinking about it now its not really good enough is it.
in reply to
I remember you saying previously about bloods and the lack of them being taken on a previous posting Linda. It isn't good enough at all I fully agree. Seems that there is one rule for the system as in if a patient happens to cancel 2 appts they have to go back to be referred via a GP but the other way round, anything goes.
No it's not good enough, I'm not a hypochondriac and I very easy going Linda, but when they stipulate that you MUST be seen 6 monthly then you should be seen!
I written to chief exec why pussyfoot about! Lol x
Hello spoul.
Tut tut, disgraceful of the hospital to keep cancelling and chopping and changing the appointments.
Have you first of all tried using the PALS? I know here in the North West (I am in Lancashire) they are based in reception of the Royal Blackburn hospital. I know I went through a lot of messing about with Choose & Book 2yrs ago now and contacted PALS regarding the matter. (In brief, my GP surgery at the time send the letters out for a patient to do their own booking. It took 10 days for mine to land via post and then there were no appts due to the timeline I received the letter. My Choose & Book wasn't for PBC, was ENT to note.)
I ended up taking my matter up with the Trust and I did get a reply.
I know when I did attend the Hepatology of the local hospital iln my year of diagnose (2010) and also during 2011 (I asked to be discharged at the time, found it a bit of a waste then), I received a new appt there and then at the reception desk prior to leaving seeing the doctor.
I did think that regular attending patients to a hospital out-patient dept would have any immediate appointments re-scheduled at the time of cancellation but the system seems to work quite variant across the country it appears.
Hope you get somewhere following you letter, please keep us posted.
Hi, Not good is it. From the time I was diagnosed ( January 2011 ) I have been seen once a month. After my transplant in June 2013 for the first 6 weeks it was twice a week, I am now back to once a month. Reading some of these post make me shudder. I had PBC.
My last two appointments have been postponed three times meaning I was seen last time in five months instead of three and the previous one in four months instead of three. The heptologist now wants to see me In six months but has told me not to leave it any longer than that. What am I supposed to do as all appointments are sent from another source?
My appointments kept getting cancelled. I'm meant to be on 6 months and last year they tried to cancel twice to take my round to over a year.
I have some experience of hospital appointments systems, due to suffering from poor health for the last 10 years.
This is what I do. I ring up the consultant's secretary to complain. She gives me all the usual flannel about short of appointments etc etc. I tell her I have a life threatening condition and I am meant to have 6 monthly checks and I still hadn't had my scan done. I'm not happy suppose something is wrong and it gets missed.
Bingo, secretary consults her secret appointments diary and makes me an appointment within two weeks.
I have done this with other departments within the hospital and it's worked every time.
The hospitals are ridiculously short of appointments, so it's a case of he/she shouts loudest -
You might this a quicker route than using the more formal channels.
You're right about he who shouts loudest. It's far easier to bully and forget a quite person. Let them know it is not exceptable, they will soon give you an appointment.
I would have thought that your appointments would be more often sounds to me you need to monited more closely..
Hi all, I've had the same problem regarding appointments, I live in west Lancashire and I attend Ormskirk hospital. I'm supposed to go every six months, as my appointments kept getting cancelled and one time it was nearly eighteen months between appointments, my consultant now gives me blood slips to get them done periodically at the walk in centre, he gets the results quickly. He is well aware of the overloaded clinics and works Saturdays every so often.
Thanks for your replies, sorry not had time to reply to you all as I've been away for a few days......also your replies have gone into my spam folder for some reason!
Anyway the good news is got a result today I received an appt for the week after my cancelled appt following my complaint.
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