What would you do?

[SharkSip]

I was at my GP a few weeks ago. She referred me to the hospital for a procedure. I am on a waiting list. She referred me as an urgent case.

I have a lot happening over the next month. I have an intense work schedule for the next 12 days. Already I am feeling it even though I am only starting it.
After that I have VIP visitors for 1 week.

I am away from home right now now. I rang home and there is mail at home for me. It's in a white envelope that says private. I bet that's from the hospital giving me an appointment.

I am not at home to see it. I will be able to read it at the weekend.

What do I do?
What if the appointment coincides with my week off and my visitors. I want to make every minute count with my family and not go to the hospital.

Do I cancel the appointment or attend to it?
If the date is a month away, I think I will be able to manage it but sooner than that?

It's for a mole removal. Black mole

If you miss the appointment it’s likely that you will be discharged and have to get rereferred. Surely your family and work would rather you were healthy?

I think your family would want you to take care of your health first :)

Urgent referral for a mole removal sounds important.

They will understand I am sure, perhaps there is some sight seeing they can do in the area while you are at the hospital this day?

I’d go to the appointment.

It sounds like the sort of thing that’s best dealt with sooner rather than later, and I’d have thought that most visitors would be understanding about it.

I'd go to the appointment. Presuming the mole is in a relatively normal position, it's a very straightforward procedure and doesn't require much time out of the day and very little time in terms of recovery.

Do you trust someone at home to open it for you? Might be no scheduling issue at all. If it does clash better to know sooner and see if you can do something about it?

You go to the appointment, I no it’s scary but nothing is more important than that.

It's my mother at home and I trust her but I don't want her to know about my procedure because I can't be dealing with her ridiculous panic mode.

I would just go to the appointment otherwise you will either be discharged or waiting longer. Better to see less of guests this time than nothing at all next time because you are dead.

Go. If you miss it you will start all over again and you don’t want to leave something like this just incase. Just tell your mum you have an appointment and don’t say what for

How much time does a hospital give a person for an appointment?

I am hoping maybe it might be a months notice or do they just give a week or two?

I am not in the UK with a 2 week referral for moles.

I think it would be impossible for anyone to guess when they don’t no what country you are in.

It's obviously worrying but no one can possibly tell you the details of a specific medical procedure in an unknown hospital in an unknown country

If you have private medical insurance through work you may be able to get seen quicker. I'm in the UK and had had the suspicious skin lesion removed privately by the time I would have had the first consultation with the NHS even fast tracked - I cancelled the NHS appointment.

Whatever date they give you GO.

I've had several moles removed , it's a simple procedure and takes about 20 minutes with no need for a recovery time or is yours more complicated?

It's not really complicated but it's adark mole and there could be a risk for cancer.

Thanks for the replies. Hopefully I will get to read the mail within the next few more days and see what's in it and what date they give me.

Hopefully it doesnt coincide with my visitors.

Even if it does, you won't be at the hospital for very long

You put your health first. End of

I suppose that makes sense however there would be travelling time to and from the hospital and it would depend on what time of the day the appointment is at. If its first thing in the morning, I think that would be good. In that I can travel from early in the morning to the hospital and it would be great to get it all over and done with by 9.30 am in the morning. 10 at the latest.

I got the mail scanned to me and it was from the bank. Thank you for all the replies. I went to my GP over 6 weeks ago with a mole that looks different than all the rest of my moles because it's darker in colour. She referred me as urgent. I'm not in the UK where you have a two week referral time. Still no appointment or letter from the hospital. It's disgusting how they treat people.

You didn’t even want to go to this appointment yesterday unless it was more than a month away! Don’t really understand why you are outraged now. But on a practical note, if it has been 6 weeks and you haven’t heard you need
to contact your GP again to check the referral has gone through, occasionally these things get lost.

I rang the hospital a few weeks ago. About 4 weeks ago and they received the referral and the receptionist told me that its being triaged.

Another week, passed and there still hasn't been any mail or appointment sent to me. Originally I was worried it might clash and coincide with my summer plans but now that's looking unlikely. Next week will be 8 weeks since my GP referred me as an urgent case and there's still not even a date with an appointment. Nothing for July.

Where I am from, the end of July and the start of August, a lot of people get off work and there won't be anything now I'd say until at least September.

How can they do this to people?

I have another mole I am worried about because it's itchy and sometimes it bleeds so I will go back to the GP next week in the hope that I get an appointment sometime this fucking year.