I have some chronic, digestive health issues which have been very, very much affecting my life.
I am under a NHS gastroenterologist but haven’t had the most positive experience with him so far.
My first meeting with him was during a follow up consultation, 2 months after a colonoscopy which I had in 2019. He was not the gastroenterologist who performed the procedure so it was the first time I had met him. He was over an hour late (Sadly, that’s common with NHS appointments, I seem to have to wait ages for most of my hospital appointments), he came in, no greetings, no niceties just flicked through my report and said all had come back satisfactory and then stood up, gave a curt goodbye and left! I had a list of symptoms I had hoped to go through with him.
As 2020 went on my symptoms were worse than ever, so my GP referred me back to gastroenterology.
I received an appointment (with the same consultant as above) and waited nearly a year for the appointment (obviously long waits now the ‘norm’ during and after the pandemic).
That was on 1st December 2021. My appointment was at 9am. I arrived on time and sat and waited to be called. An hour and a half later still waiting (I had asked reception and they said the clinic was running late!), then my phone rang , it was the consultants secretary calling to cancel my appointment!! When I explained that I was already in the waiting room, she apologised and said she thought I was a telephone appointment and to sit it out, the consultant had unexpectedly ended up running two clinics that day (other gastroenterologist had had an emergency). So two hours later I eventually got called in but needless to say it was an unsatisfactory appointment as he was so stressed and rushed.
So, I received another follow up appointment, 7 months later, for 27/07/22 at 9.15. This time a telephone appointment.
I took the morning off work and sat by my phone (new phone). He was half an hour late (nothing new there), as soon as he rung I answered, bloody annoyingly I mistakenly ended the call instead of answering it, (sodding new phone!). No worries I thought, he’ll call straight back but no, he left a voicemail saying ‘you haven’t answered when I called so ring my secretary to rebook’ arrggh!
I called the secretary immediately but it went straight to voicemail. I left a message explaining the problem and if she could kindly advise me if he would be able to ring me back that morning or should I return to work? I called 3 times and left 2 messages. No one called me back that day.
I rang the next day and managed to speak to her. She said the consultants message on notes was that I didn’t answer so to rebook. I explained why would I take a morning off work (unpaid) for an appointment to then not bother to answer it?
She said she has no idea when my next appointment will be as they are only given appointment times 6 weeks ahead and they are all now fully booked so I will get an appointment when one comes up but due to their waiting list it’s likely now to be at the end of the year.
I have had a letter today confirming this.
So I am back in limbo land.
I appreciate the NHS and it’s staff are under so much pressure and stress and I don’t want to make a fuss but as a patient I too am under pressure and stress, my symptoms are controlling and causing me a lot of discomfort, worry and stress too.
Does anyone know how to go about requesting to change consultants? There is a lovely gastroenterologist at the hospital who cared for my mil when she had terminal bowel and liver cancer. I have seen her once, privately (can not afford to do that again, sadly) but she took my issues seriously and is very caring.
I am so disheartened as this isn’t the only department I have had to wait months, even nearly a year for appointments and I know so many others are going through the same.
It just feels more and more that only the rich will be able to enjoy good healthcare in this country.