To ignore the letter I've received from the hospital?

[Frillyhorseyknickers]

After my 12 week scan I booked an appointment with the reception for my 20 week scan, for tomorrow.

We've just come home from bank holiday away and I received a letter either Friday or Saturday stating a different day (the day after) for my scan.

I was really miffed because I'd been looking forward to my scan (first pregnancy) and my diary is full now for the next few weeks. I had kept tomorrow afternoon free for the scan, but otherwise I am between four offices and I can't just free up a few hours at short notice.

My DH says we should go to the appointment tomorrow as booked and just discard the letter and deny all knowledge of it.

I feel really bad about doing that as it's NHS and they are obviously busy. DHs point is that we booked the appointment weeks ago, they have given us less than one working day's notice of the change and they are taking the piss.

WIBU to just turn up to the appointment I had arranged prior to this letter?

Ring them and explain the situation. They may be able to squeeze you in. Otherwise either pay £150 for a private scan at the time of your choosing or move work around to enable you to get your NHS scan done. Yes it's annoying but you do have options.

I don't think her expections are too high ohfour- she only wants a 20
Week scan at 20 weeks as scheduled and advised by the NHS. It's neither unusual or expensive treatment is it?

ohfourfoxache

Thanks for taking the time to type that out and I'm sorry you've had a stressful time.

For what it's worth I completely agree with you. I'm with Nuffield for my healthcare but under my current arrangement maternity cover is excluded so I decided to go NHS due to the timing of finding out/appointments etc.

I've not used NHS before and I felt a bit bad anyway as I don't need to use them. I think you're right though, I need to swap policies.

TheLegendOfBeans

No, I can't rearrange work. I know I am entitled to leave for appointments, I am a senior fee earner in an international firm- I organise my diary with clients weeks in advance which is why I had booked this appointment when I did.

I'm not taking the piss out of the NHS by hoping for the appointment time I booked on 8th March, am I? I'm also not prepared to take the piss out of my employer by dropping important meetings.

The NHS is a massive equaliser in our society. You shouldn't have to pay to get standard NHS treatment and you doing so only increases the level of inequality in healthcare. I speak as someone who did have private scans - but in addition to my medical ones on the NHS. The private ones were considered frivolous luxuries not basic. I'm
Not suggesting you sacrifice the scan you want but don't feel you have to pay because the NHS can't provide- is just not exactly when you want it (I'm a surveyor and am amazed at the inflexibility of your schedule tbh!)

It's hardly their fault you went away for the weekend and only got a days notice. You're just going to have to cancel work on the day of your appointment. You may as well get used to doing this, you fit around them not the other way around, it's what you get time off work for.

Frilly of course you can rearrange appointments! What if you got a serious stomach bug and couldn't leave the bathroom? Or broke something and were in surgery? The world wouldn't end, appointments would be reorganised or covered by someone else - much as will happen when you go in maternity leave. Whoever you are and whatever you do you are not indispensable. You need to prioritise what is really important here - the health of you and your baby.

Instasista

I'm in rural and I'm "babysitting" an estate 2hrs away until we recruit a new resident agent. So whilst usually I have the flexibility of being in the office about three days a week, until we have someone appointed and in situ, I am working from a handful of files remotely.

I had never considered private scans but looking online a lot of people do them locally.

I'm not interested in finding out sex etc, but from my POV I wanted to check my baby was developing properly and that they got all the information they needed - do the private scans do that?

I know I'm being ridiculous and I'm not usually so emotionally on edge but I'd built up to having my next scan and I was excited to see my baby again and I'm just a bit gutted I've got to wait, potentially another three to four weeks.

In any 'business' appointments sometimes have to be rescheduled and yes its bloody inconvenient and yes as a tax-payer its infuriating the NHS cant support you as it should.... However, stamping your foot and demanding your original appointment isnt going to make it happen.

Ring first thing and check theres not been a mistake, if not go private. £150 for the peace of mind and convenience is worth it.

It is really important to check if everything is ok with you both. Of course it is difficult to reschedule things but lets be honest, if the american president gets shot then the world still keeps on spinning and the work still gets done sooner or later. Just go to the new appointment.

It's hardly their fault you went away for the weekend and only got a days notice.

It's been bank holiday weekend. So even if it arrived on Friday morning, that gives one working day as my scan was tomorrow and today is bank holiday.

As someone else has pointed out, I obviously have too high expectation on NHS because it is not really acceptable to do things on a days notice in the real world?

Anyway, I'm being unreasonable, I've accepted that.

Just give them a quick ring first thing & ask them to please see you.

Of course you were looking forward to it - I don't blame you one bit. Where I work we would only canx if we had long term sickness or a machine is broken. We would probably fit you in. Esp if you couldn't been seen until 25/40 (if you were out of the country say) as then you are over the threshold for TOP for your own personal reasons.

You can have activate anomaly scan - I did with DC2 as we were unexpectedly snowed in on my scan date and the next NHS scan available was weeks away, after Christmas - I had previously miscarried on Christmas Day so wanted the reassurance all was well so I could enjoy the day with DC1. I went to my local Spire hospital and got an appointment with less than 48 hours notice.

Sorry, a PRIVATE anomaly scan!

Thanks for all the suggestions on private scans, I'm going to speak to reception first thing and if they can't accommodate I will go private, presumably they will fill my notes in?

I can't go to the proposed new appointment they sent me as I'm in London in a meeting. Whilst my work are very accommodating of me, I don't think it's reasonable to cancel a meeting at a days notice unless there is an emergency. A 20week scan is not an emergency - especially as local private clinics seem to run evening sessions where I can book in this week, hopefully.

I'm sorry but you can and will have to rearrange.
Mehta would happen if (God forbid) you suffered a pregnancy complication and had to be admitted to hospital or had an accident or illness and couldn't attend work.

I know what

Turn up at a different hospital instead. They all do scans, don't they ? Obviously the apppointment system is just to suit themselves, no need to take any notice of it.

Now before you think I am being nasty, this really happened. Don't be one of those people.

I got two letters with different appointment dates once and it was a clerical error. They let me keep the first appointment.

Private maternity care isn't available all over over the U.K. I looked into it when expecting my DS and wasn't available to me in the North West

It's worth going and just pretending you didn't receive the letter.
I work in the NHS and loads of people don't turn up for an appointment so it is quite feasible they will fit you in if they have a cancellation or a DNA (did not attend).
I often do that in my clinic, I ask them if they'll wait and see if someone doesn't turn up or I might have an extra few minutes to do the job.
of course there is the risk you may not be seen but it's worth a try.
Good luck.

My dn has clinic appointments every month or two and near enough every other appointment has been cancelled because the Consultant has been called away to a different hospital. This consultant covers more than one hospital and more than one nhs borough. Thats how short staffed the nhs is.

I would phone them in the morning because if the clinic has been cancelled there will be no one there and you will have just wasted your time.

Oh and it IS important to have your anomaly scan on time as there are certain things they can only look for at that stage.

Congratulations on your pregnancy!
It is a massive, massive pain for them to change the dates with so little notice and puts you in an impossible position with work.
HOWEVER as other posters have said, it is symptomatic of how stretched the NHS is. It can (just about) provide a good level of health care to all who need it but this will absolutely be at a time and place and in a way they can manage not in a way that is in any way convenient to its users. If it had to try to do that then it would go under.

I am a midwife in a large teaching hospital and even after being told by the midwife caring for me that I urgently needed a scan following my 38 week appointment as measuring too small + sky high blood pressure + the slight cheeky 'I'm staff, I see you every day' - they couldn't fit me in. No time in the day. Please don't just turn up, they honestly won't be able to manage.

I had my baby at the hospital I worked and received extremely safe and high quality care. However I do tell all my friends in professional/ busy/ high paid jobs that if their professional life is such that they literally can't leave work early/ cancel meetings etc to fit around pregnancy healthcare (which you have a perfect legal right to do, but I do understand it just doesn't fly in some workplaces) then you really are better going private as the NHS has literally no wiggle room at all.

Incidentally - 1st trimester scans are only in the region of £100 in a private scan clinic - I would book one at a convenient time for you this week so you have the fun of seeing baby and peace of mind and then just let the hospital have it - at my trust me recognise all UK scans. But do have a think about your needs as the pregnancy progresses.

Best wishes xxx

Grr, that's so frustrating, isn't it? Private companies are great, but when they exclude such a big part of life where healthcare is needed it's ridiculously unfair. They tend to do the same with investigations that are deemed to be for infertility too - even if they are gynae in origin (guess what area my background is in )

Just be careful with swapping policies- they will want you to have been with them for a set period of time before paying out. Also it's very unusual to find an insurer that coughs up for maternity care - the vast majority don't want to know.

Mehta would happen if (God forbid) you suffered a pregnancy complication and had to be admitted to hospital or had an accident or illness and couldn't attend work

Can you honestly not differentiate between a genuine emergency and a routine appointment? Because if not, that is not my issue.

I don't think it's unreasonable for me to expect the NHS to operate an appointment system more efficient than the one demonstrated. However, I'm in the minority and I've accepted I'm probably better to go private.