To refuse to move my hospital appointment?

[LG93]

Had surgery on my arm and wrist 13 days ago (private hospital through healthcare provided by work) I've been signed off work and driving until I see my surgeon tomorrow to remove dressings and hopefully be given the ok to return. I booked my follow up appointment for 6.20pm, so that DH could take me as I'm still not allowed to drive, and it would be difficult to do so anyway with my bandages.

Wednesdays are busy for my DH so not ideal, but that's the only day this surgeon works (assume he does NHS/other hospitals on other days, but not sure exactly) so arranged for DH to work through his lunch so he could leave early to get me to my appointment on time (about 30-40 minute drive as we're very rural)

Receptionist just called and asked if they could move my appointment 2 hours earlier as there was a big gap and his schedule and 'she knew he wouldn't like that'. I explained that as I was signed off driving I had to wait for husband to get home to take me and that there was no way I could get there 2 hours early.

The receptionist got very snotty with me and said that he wouldn't want to wait for me and so I'd have to come early or wait until the following week and see him then. I pointed out that it was a post op check up he told me to book for 14 days, and that I didn't think dressings could wait another week to be changed/checked and that it would mean him having to sign me off for another week when medically I'm probably fit to return.

I asked If the consultant had actually said he wouldn't wait and she admitted that she hadn't asked him and was just trying to tidy up his diary, and is going to contact him to ask what he wants to do and call me back.

I was very polite and apologetic that I couldn't accommodate Her request, even though this is my 3rd appointment with him and both of the other 2 they asked to move and I agreed, (despite them moving the 1st an hour early, and then telling me when I arrived he was running 45 minutes late so I had to wait until just before my original appointment time anyway, and the other id booked for my lunch break only for them to move it to the middle of the afternoon ) but she made me feel really guilty.

Should I have agreed to let her move it earlier? The only way I could have got there would have been taxi, which would be in the region of £50-60 for a return journey.

Two things:
I am a medical secretary working in the private sector. It is very common for consultants to say to their secretary, when a large gap appears in the clinic, that they don't want to sit around for 2 hours waiting for the last patient and can we please try to move them up a bit. (After the last patient they will usually be on their way to theatre or back to their NHS post to do more work there). Most of the consultants usually also work in the NHS and are also often teaching/lecturing etc in the medical schools so 2 hours' waiting for a patient, that they could use for all the other duties that are desperately awaiting them is difficult for them (also, we sometimes have to move clinic appointments because they have to do an emergency operation on a very sick patient, or have been delayed in theatre on a case that became unexpectedly complicated). That said, if the patient doesn't want to/cannot move the time, most doctors would just leave it at that and see them at the original appointment time. The receptionist or secretary, if she hadn't already been instructed to change the appt time by the consultant probably knew perfectly well that he would be fed up with the gap and complain about it. It is very unlikely it was her mistake that left a big gap - what usually happens is that you have a full clinic and 2 or 3 or more people cancel one by one and a gap opens up. It is worth her asking patients to move because lots really don't mind and it is not inconvenient for some of them. Clearly, there are some you can't get hold of or who cannot change the time, you won't have been the only one she's spoken to in her job who really can't alter the time.
Second thing, for those suggesting OP emails the consultant on his personal email - the consultant's email address anyone is given will be his office business email, administered by his secretary (though may be his name in the email address), and all communications will go through her, so you would just be talking to her again. They never ever give their personal email out to patients. The business email gets 100s of emails a week - would you want that going onto your personal email to sift through if you were the doctor - they just don't have time. That is one of the tasks they employ medical secretaries to manage so they only get passed on the emails that they need to make medical decisions on. Anything the secretary can deal with, she is expected to do, as most consultants I've worked for (many in the last 30 years of work) are getting through a phenomenal amount of work (private & NHS) and are very hard pressed to keep up with the workload - there just aren't enough hours in the day. Surgeons' timetables are often disrupted by events beyond their control - it doesn't mean they are disorganised - it is the nature of the job.

Thanks everyone. Glad I'm not in the wrong. If they'd told me when I booked it that I could only have 4.20 then I could have spent the last 2 weeks finding a solution/DH could have taken leave/could have seen if either of my parents could take leave/work from home to pick me up, take me and return me, but the day before doesn't really give me any time to sort anything out.

I would have accepted somebody else looking at it If that was an option, will suggest that/taxi if she calls back and says no. While work are being fantastic about making sure I don't go back until I'm ready, I think they'd take a dim view as me being signed off for another week because my appointment was cancelled!

It was the main hospital reception who called rather than his own secretary (who I've spoken too before and she was lovely) so if I don't hear back from the hospital I may give her a ring and see what she says.

mrsjoy my dad has seen a consultant privately. He has his email address and I doubt that it’s going through the secretary as each email has been answered by him and him only. Incl when my dad asked him for advice (he already had seen him for another problem) which then became an appointment.

I would ring his secretary now anyway just to make sure they haven’t moved the appointment.