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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect an appointment sooner?

27 replies

Clairelou08 · 03/08/2015 22:37

My son has a lazy eye and wears a patch for 6 hours a day plus glasses. His prescription is currently wrong so booked him an appointment for an eye test this Friday 7th. Got a letter today cancelling the appointment and giving us another tomorrow morning. I'm at work tomorrow and too late to get the day off now ( hospital is 70 miles away) the next appointment they can give us is 4 weeks away my son is three and we pay private health care. I'm so mad and needed to sound off AngryAngry

OP posts:
GinandJag · 03/08/2015 22:39

Is this a NHS or private appt?

Original poster
Clairelou08 · 03/08/2015 22:42

It's a private appointment

OP posts:
GinandJag · 03/08/2015 22:46

Are you tied to a specific consultant? Given that it's August, they are probably on holiday for much of the time you are waiting.

Pico2 · 03/08/2015 22:51

Does the consultant work at more than one private hospital? We have two locally, so can choose which clinic time suits us better and go to that hospital. Or contact the consultant's secretary. They are much better at sorting this stuff out than the hospital admin people.

itsmeitscathy · 03/08/2015 22:51

Yeah, that's annoying, especially when they've changed it. not the end of the world though

Original poster
Clairelou08 · 03/08/2015 22:56

Im going to ring the receptionist tomorrow see if there is another hospital we can travel to but the one 70 miles away is the closest he works for so who knows where we will have to go. There is another consultant we can see but he's on holiday too. It may not be the end of the world but I have a three year old who can't see properly at the moment and when I'm paying privately for it I don't feel we should have to wait that long

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GinandJag · 03/08/2015 23:14

You need to deal with his private secretary.

GarminGirl · 03/08/2015 23:31

Oh dear.

Consultants going on holiday doesn't suit you? When should they go then?

Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 05:19

Going on holiday is fine but if there only 2 within 70 miles who are able to test children's eyes then surely it's not unreasonable to expect them to not be off on the same week. It's more the fact that the appointment has been cancelled with only 4 days notice they could have called me Friday when he decided to take his holiday then I could have made arrangements to get to the Tuesday appointment

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Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 05:22

If I was happy to wait a month for an appointment I would have done it through the Nhs. The whole point in paying privately was to get me don the best care as soon as he needs it

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Pico2 · 04/08/2015 07:28

Definitely talk to his private secretary. The hospital receptionist won't be anywhere near as good at dealing with this sort of thing.

GinandJag · 04/08/2015 08:00

Maybe he had emergency surgery on Friday, or a funeral to attend? It's not their fault that you are 70 miles away.

Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 08:13

No, he's going on holiday. My appointment has been booked for weeks. It's not his fault the hospital is 70 but not mine either

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GarminGirl · 04/08/2015 09:16

Even if one went on holiday and the other didn't, then they would still be booked up with their own appointments and not be able to double their workload with the other consultants patients!

Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 09:22

The point is my pre booked appointment was cancelled because holiday was arranged after I booked the appointment! We pay NI contribution plus private health cover so I then don't expect Nhs length waiting times

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Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 09:26

Also garmingirl private appointments are different to Nhs ones, the user patients out of hours of their own job as they get pain massive amounts of money to do so!

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GarminGirl · 04/08/2015 09:27

That's private healthcare for you! You can't demand to solve a problem by throwing money at it.

MrsBobDylan · 04/08/2015 09:27

It is frustrating-my son has waited three months for a first appointment for nhs ophthalmology and for some of that time we have been trying to get a private appointment as We're desperate. He's 5.5, autistic and with a squint and I worry time's running out to correct it.

We've finally got one this week but I know it's been difficult because of the holiday period.

I do understand how worrisome it is to wait though.Flowers

Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 09:34

Thanks it is frustrating and I am only trying to do the best for our son. Knowing he can't see properly is awful. I'm "throwing money" at the problem to get it sorted before it's too late to correct believe me there are things I eouluch rather spend the money on!

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Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 10:38

Managed to get an appointment for 18thSmile maybe I can demand to solve the problem by throwing money at it after allWink

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MistressMia · 04/08/2015 15:12

That's private healthcare for you! You can't demand to solve a problem by throwing money at it

Bit like the NHS then.

OP I agree, its poor to have had a cancellation at such short notice and an alternative so far away. Its the product though of replicating working practices in the NHS. Sort of ingrained behaviour that's seen as perfectly normal. You should expect better if paying privately and even in the NHS it shouldn't happen as frequently as it does.

ProudAS · 04/08/2015 19:36

The problem is not just the change of appointment but the way it was handled. I assume the admin staff have the OP's phone no and/or email address. They could have contacted her last week and she could have made arrangements to get to the earlier appointment.

LifeHuh · 04/08/2015 21:24

Um - how do you know his prescription is wrong if you haven't had a recent test? Because, well, having the eye exam is usually how you find out the prescription is wrong...(particularly if you are 3 and so not in a position to be doing a detailed commentary on what you can see!)

Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 22:57

Because lifehuh He sees 2 separate consultants, one for his lazy eye. ( patching) and one for his detailed eye examination. We saw his patch consultant 2 weeks ago who did a basic test which shows his vision has deteriorated so she said we need a full examination as soon as possible! Thanks for your concernSmile

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Original poster
Clairelou08 · 04/08/2015 23:04

Oh and he can talk and say "mummy I can't see" detailed commentary enough I'd say! Have you ever been on a position were your child can't see properly? He wears a patch for 6 hours a day on his good eye so it's pretty vital that he can see as much as possible with his bad eye!

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