WIBU to leave (consultant appointment)

[onemiddlefinger]

I've been waiting now for 40min, somebody has taken my blood pressure in the waiting room, no sign of the consultant.
It's an antenatal appointment but I'm not actually sure why i need it.
It's in the middle of a work day, i need to get back.

We wait a minimum of an hour (usually 2 but has been almost 4) to see dps cancer consultant. We also wait similar times for chemo appointments.
We expect some delays but this is every single time.... not pleasant when dp feels unwell... but unfortunately we have no choice...

the hospital I'm with advise that you allow 3 hours for the appointment. I normally wait 40 minutes for a scan and a further 40 mins to be called through to a consultant room then up to another 30 minutes for the consultant to come in.

the one time it took longer my DH was all for leaving and it turned out that the consultant team had been deciding what to do with me, they narrowly avoided sending me to Boston for a c-section... I ended up trapped in the hospital for 2 days awaiting an induction and being pumped full of steroids.

My advice is allow more time for consultant appointments if they decide you need them in the future...

I have spent hrs in waiting rooms for various AN appointments, some emergency and some booked. Sometimes I've been seen quickly and other times I've had to wait up to five hours before being able to leave. Sometimes I've been there early and occasionally I've been late (I live over an hour away from the hospital and at peak times find it hard to find parking once I arrive).

Every time I have had an amazing, caring, professional experience at the end of it, and have been apologised to, and apologised for, any delays.

I would rather not have gone to all of them, but it would never occur to me that I am entitled to be seen promptly or for everything to go smoothly.

The three questions may feel like time wasting to you, op, as I'm sure my tear filled panicky visits to my local MLU to hear the heartbeat feel like time wasting to the mws. But they don't post it on here, but see it as part of their role.

Brummiegirl, I am really sorry you have had such a sad time of it.

I can't believe how unbelievably rude some of you are.

Let's hope you never have a moan about something on MN.

Generally most NHS medics are hard working and there will be a genuine reason for the delay. It's unfortunate - but one of those things.

Did you actually ask the doctor why you were there and if you need to see him/her again? I'm a bit surprised that you didn't text or call the midwife back and ask why you were being referred? I get the feeling that you were there under some duress in the first place which is not really the doc's fault and you might have found the appointment more useful if you knew why you were there.

Some of these posts are very unkind. If the clinic is running so behind then it's up to the staff there to explain what's going on - but my experience of working for the NHS for nearly 30 years is that it doesn't happen because customer care is not a priority in so many cases. My personal experience of being someone who received bad news at an appointment and of subsequently being a parent who has spent many hours waiting for appointments in paediatric cardiology is that it's still frustrating to wait for long periods of time.

That doesn't mean I don't appreciate the NHS because I do, obviously, but nor do I think it doesn't need a major overhaul and culture change. And if I'm late for work because I'm held up by a clinic which is running over with no reason given then that has a knock on effect in other areas of the NHS - so not simply a case of 'my employer will cope'.

It is not 'free'. No doubt the OP has been paying her National Insurance contributions.

it is not about actually being "free" it is about being "free at point of need".

Because it is, people don't complain as much as if they have to pay for a service from their pocket there and then. And some hold it up as being fabulous despite it needing to change to make it better, because we are lucky to have it at all.

We deserve better, we do not deserve to have to sit in pain for 5 hours REGULARLY, where people who do pay at point of service rarely wait 5 minutes for the same service, often from the same doctor.

SoupDragon, i just think there are plenty of us who have had unpleasant antenatal visits.

When your pregnancy runs smoothly you forget that clinic times aren't set up to only see perfectly healthy problem free women in 5 minutes.

You're hanging around because the person in front of you had 20 questions to ask, or results that needed chasing, or a huge file that needed reading before the appointment.

I've had 2 high risk pregnancies and hours hanging around waiting for consultants.

When a scan showed one twin had died, i was whisked away to a back room, a consultant saw me within 5 minutes and sat with me as long as i needed. Anyone waiting to see her would have been waiting a long time. So what.

It's irritating, but not unusual. In my experience hospital/MW/gp appointments are usually late and there's not often an apology, less still an explanation. I think you just have to guard against it, I avoided meetings on appointment days and took work with me. I also always made sure I had snacks/drinks/coins and entertainment in my hospital bag - it was useful for the late running midwife appointment that ended up as an emergency C section.

Knackered - I've been on both sides, but can still acknowledge that it's hugely frustrating to have to take so much time off work for such a short appointment when you don't know why you have been called for the appointment or why it's running so late.

I'm involved in a service review at the moment, and we are trying to capture the patient experience within this setting - it can make a huge difference to how patients view their time with us and can help us improve their service. We certainly don't sit round the table saying "tough, it's free, patients should be glad they've got an NHS" as seems to be the view of some on this thread - we look to make things better.

I remember once waiting over an hour to see the the MW at the GP's . I was getting really fed up then the MW came out with her arm around the (heavily pregnant) woman who had been with her all that time. She had obviously been crying and was being sent straight up to hospital. She'd needed every bit of time she took and I felt bad for being annoyed waiting.

I know the wait is frustrating and I hope your appointment is a quick two minute one.

My DH is a consultant. The reason that there are so many delays is that they give multiple patients the same appointment time at the beginning of clinics so that the doctors are not waiting around till the end of clinic time unless they have to be there. Obviously he does not do this to his private patients!

Not saying this happens everywhere, but it would not surprise me if It was common. So much sentimental BS is spouted about the NHS, which enables it to get away with providing what is often shit "service".

OP is definitely NBU.

The reason that there are so many delays is that they give multiple patients the same appointment time at the beginning of clinics

Yes, I've noticed this. All morning patients told to turn up at 9am and all afternoon ones at 2pm, and then the consultant works his way though them while the others wait.

It's really irritating. DH agrees that it's treating patients as though their time has no value, which is just rude! And he specialises in oncology so the waiting room is often stuffed full of very poorly patients, many of whom only need to see him for 2 minutes!

I don't think anyone minds waiting for a genuine emergency, but they are the exception rather than the rule.

If less pointless appointments were made surely it would cut waiting times and improve care for everyone.

I had an unnecessary appointment with an obstetric consultant as a result of lack of communication when I had asked for my GP to find out some information for me about a hereditary condition. I had already spoken to more relevant specialists on the phone who had told me everything I needed to know and who were happy with my midwife led care path. The obstetrician did not examine me and asked me a simple question about my medical history that she could have asked on the phone before saying she too was happy with my care plan. I had taken an afternoon off work, I'm self employed and can't take my work with me to do in the waiting room so no pay, had to travel 20 miles each way to the hospital and pay for parking and I'm sure there were people waiting longer for appointments they actually needed while I took up her time.

It's the age old lack of communication problem.
Why was the appt needed?
Why was there a delay?
If I'm waiting for ages I'd rather be told 'sorry there's been an emergency, there'll be about an hours delay' than sit around guessing.

Oh God yes the hell of sitting in a consultant waiting area, been there and gained the numb arse.

I was waiting to hear about the results of my scan and blood tests on my ovarian cysts and what the next step should be.

2.5 fucking hours I was sat there!, my file was in the wrong hospital and they were waiting on a courier when I first arrived who took a while, bless him.

Anyway I stayed as I had nowhere more important to be and needed to know the results but what a ball ache it was.

Long waits are irritating and while I think most people understand that sometimes consultants get called away, it's nonetheless a problem.

The reality is that the inefficiency is not a natural by product of "free" care or of emergencies. In my area, I am always impressed by the fact that appointments are always always more or less on time and problems are dealt with efficiently. That tells me that the issues in other hospitals are more likely linked to poor management individually than anything else.

I saw a nurse today for my shots. We talked about this and she commented that my surgery is much more efficient than her last place. Individual management every time.

Individual management every time

Absolutely agree - from professional experience.

Agree, OP has already paid for the 'service' and is fully entitled to complain when she receives sub-standard care.

I don't think anyone on here has been unduly unkind. Responses generally reflect life experiences and this is MN where most users are women of childbearing age...

OP - I don't know how old you are but I can only assume this is your first pregnancy and hopefully uncomplicated.

I am (very) late 30's and it is my 4th uncomplicated pregnancy. I know I am incredibly fortunate. Waiting in a hospital is not the same as waiting at the post office, waiting at the bank, waiting at the airport, being stuck on the motorway… and 50 minutes is really not a long wait (you will probably have to wait longer when you are in labour ).

The thing is, the older you get and the more children your friends have, the more you realise how incredibly lucky you are to have a trouble-free pregnancy. I have friends who can't get pregnant, who keep miscarrying, who have had stillbirths, who have had babies with life threatening illnesses. Other than not getting pregnant, every one of these friends only discovered what had happened at a routine scan or appointment (or at birth, in one case). It is only as I encounter more sad stories and watch their grief that I become even more thankful for the children I have and the current healthy pregnancy I am having (touch wood).

You have been inconvenienced but please be aware of the bigger picture.

I agree it's annoying to wait. I'd be happy to pay for my healthcare at point of use, but I suspect many people would not be.