Had phone call this morning cancelling my appointment with Specialist Rheumy Nurse due tomorrow. The nurse is off sick and next available appointment is March 27. The original appointment was for December 22, this was cancelled and moved to Jan 27, and now this isn’t happening. If March 27 doesn’t get cancelled original appointment will be 3 months late. It was June when I last had an appointment, apart from blood tests. As I am on weekly Methotrexate injections and had last blood test on Dec 12, asked if I should be having another blood test before March 27, was told it wasn’t necessary as they will do blood test on same day in March. I said well I hope that won’t be cancelled - didn’t receive a response. I know I can contact Rheumy nurse helpline if I have any problems but bit cross at these cancellations. Thank goodness for this forum, I am more confident in advice I get here than waiting for hospital to get back to me. Feel better now I’ve got that off my chest!
Another cancelled Rheumy appointment: Had phone... - PMRGCAuk
Another cancelled Rheumy appointment
Fact of life at present time I’m afraid….but still very frustrating.
Suppose it would send everyone into a spin if you requested blood test at GPs?
That is a very good idea. See your GP and request a blood test
I am going to leave it for now and see how things go. I am feeling quite well at moment. Am following your slow taper and it is going well. Contacting our GP at moment is not easy. My husband has been trying to get appointment this week. First call he was 20+ in queue and then got cut off. Next try only 6 in queue, but next available appointment was Feb 7. He wasn’t happy with that so was told to call again later and speak to duty doctor. Only 4 is queue this time and doctor said he needed F2F and he now has appointment for Monday. Doctor also said he needed Naproxen prescription for pain he is in. He told her he remembered he still had some from episode of gout he once had. She said his records showed that was 10 years ago so needed fresh pills. He never throws anything away!
Does surgery have eConsult facility- then you can ask question without having to hang on the phone….. not sure, look here -
You can order repeat prescriptions from them via Patient Access but they don’t have e consult I’m afraid. Problems with our GP practice is main topic of conversations with my neighbours, very frustrating as they used to be so good. The most popular doctor there has a 3 month waiting list for appointments
Not good is it…to put it mildly🧐
Talk about the ‘new normal”, I preferred the old version
Yes, I can order repeat prescriptions from my GP via Patient Access but not for predisolone as "you're not allowed". So back to contacting reception after first listening to one of the doctor's recorded message which says that if anybody verbally abuses the staff "this will not be tolerated and steps will be taken". Rather sets the tone for any following conversation really doesn't it??!!
Contacting a GP certainly tests your patience now. I first got my Pred from the hospital but consultant then said I should get them from GP in future. Easier said than done, had to make an appointment to speak to a GP who then had to ask the partners at their weekly meeting for permission. This was granted and can now get repeat perscriptions via Patient Access. Could have done without the stress of it all when not feeling well. I was told by the receptionist this was because of budget issues, cost now having to come from GP’s budget rather than the hospital! Sign of the times I suppose.
Well if they make that much fuss over Pred which costs very little -heaven help those patients on much more expensive ones!
Little drops of water ... Look after the pennies ...
Of course, heaven forefend they might reduce their profits as a business ...
I do get my MTX pens via the hospital, think my GP would have a breakdown if they had to pay for those. In my ignorance I thought the hospital and GP surgery were all part of the NHS, I know things aren’t quite that straightforward now
Funnily enough last year I had to go privately re suspected wrong diagnosis by GP. Consultant confirmed wrong diagnosis and prescribed treatment which was very expensive. He said if my GP queried it I had to let the Consultant know. GP authorised treatment without a murmer. It's all just nonsense.
it’s whether they actually finalise with you. Just looked up my blood results and it states ‘patient informed ‘ twice. Really, phone must have gone wrong 😂🤣😂🤣😂
They forget we now have records of who phones us ..
And here I thought these problems were only in the U.S. The other day I called my neurologist’s office which, nowadays, is not the office but a call center. I was told I had 67 people in front of me! The medical field is going down the drain. I find this so scary.
It is all over the world - a shortage of doctors and governments who won't pay. Nothing like as bad here YET, and the powers that be have realised they have to change things a bit. A lot is a generational thing combined with stupidity - there was a boom in the birth-rate post WW2. We are all old and retiring - from the healthcare services too - and becoming patients in the system. It isn't as if they didn't have 60 years of warning of what would happen in the 2020s ...
My GP has stopped doing blood tests, but I still have to go there to pick up a form to take to the hospital.
That sounds about right!
Yes that’s the same procedure at my GP’s.
Just another hurdle to jump over for any of us with significant mobility issues.
Here I need to fetch the form from the next village and get to the hospital to have the blood taken - but the train goes from the middle of the village to the back door of the hospital, at least pre-Covid, Bit further to walk round now. For anyone with mobility issues, a nurse will come and take the blood. But then someone has to deliver the samples to the lab at the hospital! No idea who thought THAT one out ...
Words fail me ! Or at least words that I can use here.
They very kindly provide a coolbag to contain the blood vials though. Which you have to return to the community nurses station.
Give with one hand and take away with the other. 🤔🤐
🤣😂🤣😂
Personally I'm of the opinion the blood tests should be done anyway by the GP and NOT missed. The idea of the blood tests is to identify potentially serious adverse effects of MTX at a very early stage. It used to be that MTX couldn't be prescribed without the blood test results having been approved. They don't need to SEE the patient - the nurse can take blood and the doctor check the result is good enough.
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