Cancelled appointment

[Sparks_]

Has anyone got any advise for me re cancelled outpatient appointments.

My story is...I was taken ill on holiday in the Netherlands I ended up having emergency surgery there and a 5 week hospital stay( no complaints about them at all) then transferred to an NHS hospital in England for a week, then discharged with the district nurse visiting me daily to redo my wound dressing. I have had outpatient appointments every month or so for the past year as my wound refuses to heal, at my last appointment the consultant said I would probably need a skin graft to help the wound heal and he wanted to see me in two months when he would refer me to the correct department for the skin graft, I got the appointment through the post for more than two months later(lack of appointment slots) which was cancelled just 2 weeks before the appointment date and given another one for another month later, now that one has been cancelled as well and I have been given another appointment yet another month later than the last one making it almost 5 months from the last appointment that I attended, if this one gets cancelled what rights do I have please? Oh the reason given each time is 'unforeseen circumstances'

[Sali]

Well, I would do two things. Firstly I would contact my GP - make an appointment - and express my concerns to him/her. A letter from them to the consultant on your behalf expressing your distress would lessen the chance of your appointment being bumped again.

 

Also, you could find an alternative hospital for treatment, if you are prepared to travel. I believe NHS Choices is supposed to list hospital waiting times in particular areas. I was looking for an alternative consultation for somebody a while back, researched the possibilities and then they contacted their GP with the information. You are well within your rights to choose where you are treated.

[Sparks_]

Well, I would do two things. Firstly I would contact my GP - make an appointment - and express my concerns to him/her. A letter from them to the consultant on your behalf expressing your distress would lessen the chance of your appointment being bumped again.

 

Also, you could find an alternative hospital for treatment, if you are prepared to travel. I believe NHS Choices is supposed to list hospital waiting times in particular areas. I was looking for an alternative consultation for somebody a while back, researched the possibilities and then they contacted their GP with the information. You are well within your rights to choose where you are treated.

 

I will be doing this if my appointment is cancelled again, I am half way through my treatment so dont really want to start with a new consultant, would like to be referred back to the Surgeon that did the emergancy operation but I dont think the NHS will pay for my treatment in the Dutch health system

[Feebee_71]

We had an issue where my mum's cardiology appointments were continually bumped back by 3-4 months every time but she simply accepted it until the occasion when they were away and I got the letter cancelling yet another appointment and giving her one which would put her 14 months between appointments for what was supposed to be a 4 month follow up.

 

When I got the letter through I spoke to the head of appointments at the hospital asking what criteria they used for cancelling people's appointments to be told that it would only be done in extreme cirrcumstances when an emergency appointment was needed for a new patient and that they would never cancel the same patient more than once. Then I spoke to the consultant's secretary to find out what they were being told about the appointments (he was a visiting consultant from another hospital) being changed and the answer was that my mum was changing the appointments as they weren't convenient!!! I soon put her straight that they were being cancelled by the hospital and the first thing we knew would be when the letter would arrive.

 

I complained to the PALS team, the hospital director who covered the appointments department and through the secretary of the vidsiting consultant as he wouldn't have known about it being recorded as a complaint if we didn't.

 

In the end nothing came of it other than the cardiology appointments were moved from the hospital to an outlying clinic held in a GP's practice and she received a letter of apology that her appointments had been cancelled so many times!!

 

If you don't feel you are getting anywhere I would recommend making a complaint through the hospital PALS team or to the consultant's secretary as they might not be aware of the constant cancellations.

 

Feebee_71