Written off by hospital

[moocow66]

Hi my hubby has advanced asbestosis and at the last C.T. scan in July we were told he also has Bronchiectasis we saw the consultant early August only the second time in 5 years of seeing him always see the doctors under him and he went through the scan results and we thought we would get a appointment again in 6 months but when I went to pick up tablets from our G.P he was holding a letter from consultant saying because of the state of my hubbys lungs he would be discharging him from having appointments at the hospital as there is nothing they can do to help!! My GP was gob smacked to have the consultant say this and when I told my hubby he was very upset as it's like being written off after a sleepless night we got our heads round it and realised the consultant did nothing to really help us anyway so we will continue on with a bloody minded attitude that he will not be written off and we have decided if he gets worse I will just dial 999 as there are no nurses to turn to dealing with copd and our GP is clueless to lung diseases. We are in Ireland and live isolated and now feel we are isolated in the medical help that he needs..

[newlands]

That is appalling ,I have never had a consultant say they would see me again ,seems some areas of the uk are different from others and my area lacks lung consultants .The last time I was in hospital the consultant in AE said"I've just been reading your notes from 2years ago and very surprised too see you are still here" what a stupid thing to say especially in front of my 2 daughters ,some of these so called consultants need a brain test

You take care

Dorothy

[Hidden in reply to newlands]

🤦‍♀️

[mauschen in reply to newlands]

Astounding!

What is happening, does the hypocratic oath not count for anything these days?

[Time_2_drink in reply to newlands]

That's appalling Dorothy sounds like so called care I recieve lol Take care Margaret

[Hidden]

Good morning moocow66. I am spitting barbed wire at yet another display of medical neglect and ignorance. But dwelling on the useless consultant will not get us any where.

So where from here.

I'm glad to read that you consider yourselves bloody minded (join the club) and there does seem to be a bright spot because your GP is obviously not happy with your husband's discharge.

As you know by now, we with lung conditions have to be extremely pro active and virulent in our own advocacy.

Anyone living with a lung condition needs the ongoing care of a specialist in their particular problem and a centre to contact when problems arise. Dialling 999 and being rushed to the precarious knowledge of an A&E department is far from the best option.

For your husband this is especially essential because he has just been diagnosed with bronchiectasis. Left un cared for bronch can make you very ill. When treated by a specialist bronchiectasis expert, it can be controlled and given your husband's asbestosis this is vital.

So, look for a bronchiectasis specialist in your area. They are usually based at big teaching hospitals. Go to your GP armed with a name ( if possible at a different hospital to the useless, ignorant and cruel consultant). Don't leave the GPs office until you have a referral. When the appointment comes through ring the consultant's secretary and ask her to give your husband any cancellation which comes up. On the day of your appointment there will probably be a nurse assigning patients' notes to the doctors in attendance. Ask her/him nicely to put your husband in the pile of the Consultant NOT one of his minions. ( I always do this, I am not attending to educate registrars).

This takes tact, some guile and a somewhat stubborn approach. I am sure that you can do that.

Good luck

[Hidden]

There are some bronchs on this site who live in Ireland and I am hoping that they will be along with a name. In a previous post a very good bronch specialist in Northern Ireland was recommended.

[mauschen]

I am dumbfounded by this response. Lung disease is difficult enough to deal with without being made to feel worthless by the very people who are supposed to be helping you, it's a disgrace!

Please don't give up, ask for a second opinion and a plan of care to be drawn up. If you can get a copy of the consultant's letter, please take this to your local MP .

How is your husband now? After getting the carpet swept from under his feet he is no doubt at a psychological all time low. He shouldn't need to deal with that and an extremely difficult physical diagnosis.

As a carer, you can only do the best you can. You save the health service thousands by keeping your husband out of hospital. It would make more economical sense for for you to be appreciated and supported in your efforts. It's people like you who are keeping the health services afloat.

God bless you both

X

[moocow66 in reply to mauschen]

Thank you

[Billiejean_2]

Hi MC, this is really awful and makes me feel ashamed of our health service.

For starters, if the consultant/hospital signs you off then shouldn't they automatically transfer you to have access to palliative care services ?

I remember this happening to one of our members here but this person is currently under a different consultant in another hospital. Obviously, you should not accept this state of affairs without consulting the hospital management, your local health board, TD and anybody else who can take the matter up on your behalf. Maybe you should ring Joe Duffy ?

Little Pom, everything you say is absolutely sound advice but things are a little bit different over here. For starters, we don't have as big a selection of hospitals and consultants in Ireland, as you would have in the UK. There are only five cities in the Republic of Ireland, so that severely limits the number of large teaching hospitals. If you live in a remote part of the countryside, your choices are even more limited. In theory, we can all be super-assertive with out GPs and demand referrals but the reality is that any referral as a public patient could take up to two years to actually get an appointment.

My thought would be that you should concentrate on the hospital your husband attended MC. Maybe there's more then one respiratory consultant there and your husband could be transferred to her/him. What's really important is to find if that consultant was within his rights to make the decision he did and if it can be changed.

Your GP sounds like he is supportive and what are his thoughts on the matter ? As you say, you can always dial 999 but as Little Pom pointed out, having your husband brought to A&E could be very traumatic for him.

Do you have a Citizen's Advice Bureau in your nearest town or do you have a social worker or district nurse who could advise you ? You sound like someone who will fight for your husband's rights, so don't give up. Please let us know how you get on.

[Healthylungs5]

This is a real shame. Do you know how your husband contracted asbestosis? Is there an organisation or company to blame? People with lung disease seem to me to be sidelined quite a lot and there just doesn't seem to be the same recognition for sufferers as say people with other high profile life limiting conditions.

Your husband is very lucky to have you to look out for him and I'm sure it's all very frustrating for you as a carer.

Take care and god bless.

Sandra x

[AshDan]

That is shockingly unethical behaviour. Consultants (while most are amazing people) are not God. They are paid to do a job.He is obviously not able or just not doing his job. I would not put up with that as new medication comes along everyday regardless of the stage of the illness. You must stand up for yourself. Write to the Minister for Health also the hospital (director or board) and the national and local radios. Perhaps his peers do not know that he is shirking his responsibilities. He may be doing this to others. He needs to be brought to book.

Please do not lie down and take this.

[watergazer]

How awful for you. Your GP seems disgusted too so maybe together you can work something out. Seems a good idea to research lung consultants in your area and go back to your GP with a list. Take care