I feel that I have to have a bit of a rant about the complete uselessness of some of the systems that the NHS has in place.
In October, I went in for an appointment to discuss having a mole removed. A very basic procedure in the scheme of things and something that I had done last year. It wasn't until May that I received my appointment for the procedure to take place. The letter that was sent gave the time of the appointment and informed me that I would be having a local anaesthetic and could eat and drink as normal. It also made me aware in a very firm manner that if I did not respond to the letter to confirm the appointment within 24 hours, it would be cancelled and the process would have to start again. I may be wrong here, but 24 hours is a very limited time in which to confirm an appointment. What if I had been away, even just for the day? As it was, I was unable to make it to that particular appointment and phoned (within 24 hours) to let the hospital know. I was told that I would be sent another appointment in the post shortly but they couldn't book one over the phone. This meant that it would once more be pot luck whether or not I would be able to attend. It seems that hospitals don't understand the fact that some people can't just tell their workplace that they need the day off for medical reasons...
Back to the point. I never received a second appointment letter but instead had a phone call on Tuesday morning to ask if I could be at the hospital for 5pm. That day. When I said I couldn't, the woman was most taken aback and asked for a reason. She seemed even more shocked when I told her that I worked for myself in a shop that didn't close until 5pm. She offered another appointment- 5pm on Wednesday. I agreed to this one (even though it meant missing sailing which I was most gutted about!) and was told that the procedure would take 45 minutes maximum. I arrived dead on 5 o'clock and took a seat in the waiting room. Shortly after I was called for pre assessment where I informed the nurse that I was immuno-suppressed and therefore susceptible to infections, that I had a low platelet count and that I have a history of feinting- particularly when needles are involved. Iwas given my little red wristband and sat down to wait for the next step. Almost an hour later I was taken to see the surgeon and told him the same as I told the nurse- low platelets (bruise easily, bleed lots), scared of needles (feint), immuno suppressed (get infections easily). I'm pretty sure that even the less medically educated would be able to work out that these teeensy little issues could cause complications in even minor surgery. Apparently this lot had other ideas about prioritising patients. The phobia of needles subsequently means that most medical procedures cause an unusual level of anxiety which, to me, makes perfect sense. Still, once I had seen the surgeon I was asked to wait in the next waiting area. At about 7pm I was getting fairly anxious. I was hungry and didn't know what was going on. I called home to say I hadn't gone in and didn't know how long I'd be. There were no nurses around who knew what time I would be going in. At one point I was told that someone was in surgery and there were 2 people after, then me. That could mean anything really. I had no idea how long their procedures were or how many surgeries were taking place that evening or how many surgeons might be working. Just before 8pm, I still hadn't gone in and was definitely worked up and starving. I managed to find a nurse to ask when I would be going in and she didn't know. Another nurse came around and rather assertively told me that she had let me know where I was on the list. I let them know just how worked up I was and how unfair it was on patients to tell them their appointment is at 5 and to keep them waiting for 3 hours. They agreed and said there was nothing they could do about it and that it was an admin problem. I was asked to change into an operating robe and take a seat again. Then the surgeon came out to repeat what the nurse had said about the wait which just got me more upset. Now I was sitting in the waiting room on my own in one of those horrendous operating robes with no back in tears with another 25 minutes to wait before my op. I went to the desk and asked to use the phone again and the nurses that were hiding in the office who I hadn't seen that evening demanded to know who I was and why I needed to use the phone. Whilst I understand why they needed to know this, they're manner of asking was rude and obnoxious. Speaking to mum on the phone had me in tears again and she offered to drive over so she would be there when I came out of surgery. At 8:30 I was finally taken into theatre where inevitably, I broke into a panicked flood of tears as soon as they injected the anaesthetic. By 9pm it was all over and Mum was waiting for me (having already given a piece of her mind to anyone who was nearby...).
It seems ridiculous that so much hassle was caused when all that was needed was a little more communication. All that is needed for anyone going for any kind of surgery is information. A note on the initial letter to say that whilst you need to arrive at 5pm, this is only for pre op assessment and you may be waiting up to 4 hours before your surgery. I find it utterly insane that such a vital piece of information is missed from the letters when it causes so much anxiety and aggravation!!
Rant over- NHS- sort yourself out!
Xx
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