Expanding appointments
It is a week of time-gobbling appointments. Monday’s dental appointment was three times as long as expected. I had to have three (or four, I lost count) anaesthetic injections. And to think, Vishal was contemplating not using any injections at all! Enough of that.
On Tuesday we had to go to a hospital a few miles away for a cholesterol blood test. I don’t know why. Perhaps the powers that be, who have little notion how to organise things, thought it would be a sensible idea to centralise things.
We duly turned up well before the appointed time, and booked in. No problems there. My blood was taken and then it was Barry’s turn. He’s supposed to have blood tests every few months. He reappeared very quickly, looking thunderous. The doctor’s notes were missing, so the phlebotomist couldn’t take a sample. However, all he needed to do was ‘phone our medical practice and get a doctor to authorise the blood-letting. Then the phlebotomist told him he could bang on the door, and he would be relieved of the requisite syringeful of blood. Annoying, but simple.
He rang the GP practice. He was number nine in the queue. Fifty minutes later he was able to speak to a long-suffering receptionist. She then had to consult a doctor. In another ten minutes, a doctor was available to speak to the phlebotomist, and the sample was taken.
Today will be spent making ‘phone calls and composing emails and letters to Wes Streeting (Secretary of State for Health and Social Care) local MPs, the CEO of the hospital, the CEO of the Foundation Trust, our medical practice, and anyone else we discover who should be made further aware of the inadequacy of the system.
Patients – we, the public – are being expected to take on more and more of the organisation of our medical treatment. We must make the appointments, chase the results, organise ongoing treatment if required. Many of us are perfectly capable of doing that, but there are many more who experience great difficulty.
People who are already feeling unwell can quickly be defeated by a system that appears designed to confuse. They don’t or can’t persevere, miss appointments, and become seriously ill. By the time they finally come to the attention of the medical profession, they may be much sicker than they would have been had they been seen in a timely fashion.
In short, the appalling IT system is completely inadequate and deteriorating all the time. Everyone agrees, from consultants to clinicians to nurses to receptionists, that the system is broken and needs urgent repair. There is huge frustration across the medical profession because a wildly inadequate system is putting people’s lives at risk.
Tomorrow, Barry has an appointment at another hospital for an MRI scan.
Fingers crossed!
In the past year, I have had several medical appointments, including hospital visits and everything has gone smoothly - like clockwork in fact. I have no complaints, only praise for the staff I have encountered. Maybe I have just been lucky but I know other old codgers in Sheffield who are very satisfied with the health service they have received.
ReplyDeleteI certainly hope that Barry gets his MRI without issue. I would have such a headache after what you have described that I would need to see a doctor. I just had my mammogram this morning, first one in three years simply because I don't go to the doctor anymore. And our Hospital finally got smart and decided to let us make our own appointments.
ReplyDeleteI'm pleased you, as people of a certain social strata with influence are writing notes of complaint. Noisy wheels get the oil, which some of the non retired working folk need to to understand.
ReplyDelete"People who are already feeling unwell can quickly be defeated by a system that appears designed to confuse."
ReplyDeleteThat's over here, too, and it's the biggest problem and often makes those that might need medical attention refuse to seek it because of all the hoops through which you are supposed to jump.
My daughter was quite ill recently, with a very sore throat. She went to the pharmacist who can apparently prescribe now in your country. He looked at her throat and said that her tonsils were extremely swollen. She asked about this with real interest, as her tonsils had been removed nearly 20 years ago. He got very short with her. Turned out, she had a case of shingles, of all things, on her scalp and neck.
ReplyDeleteI've tangled with the online appointment/enquiry system now in place at our surgery and it is irritating and longwinded. But they do get back quickly, often within an hour or so. It's hard work having a long term condition... tracking, organising, tracing appointments for 6 teams across three hospitals plus weekly oxygen cylinder requests, quarterly routine blood tests, and 6 weekly prescription requests to three different suppliers... 😀
ReplyDeleteIt's hard work being sick in the UK. I bless my own care, easy access to many specialists, eg hip replacement needed, set up, done in a month, home visiting physio, all covered by my Medicare. Where you live matters in your health coverage. I've been checked by half a dozen specialists in the last few weeks, as baseline routine care.
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