To be annoyed with the hospital for making me wait again?

[newmama2018]

I have been on the waiting list for fertility surgery for nearly two years now and finally we got the call to say next month was my date. Whilst I was nervous it's has been heartbreaking ttc for three years and not getting anywhere so was pinning my hopes on this.

Today however I got a call to say there has been an emergency booking and they have had to give my place away. She said unfortunately I'll have to go back on the waiting list and I've lost my place so will have to wait again. As a kindness she has put me down as a cancellation possibility for the 2019 list.

I'm really really upset now and quite annoyed that it was December 2015 we started asking for help and now I'm back at the beginning again. Can I complain to anyone?

[Talkingfrog]

That seems a ridiculous way of allocating appointments. If they are allocating for a whole year in advance they should leave space for emergency cases. If they have not allocated for the whole year, I don't understand why they can't give you the next post they allocate.
Also, I would be wanting to know how they decided that you should be pushed back down the list, instead of someone before or after you.
Could you make a list of questions and ask to speak to someone more senior to get them answered? If you could follow it up in email or writing and get a response you have it on black and white if you need to take it further. Good luck.
When we were waiting for ivf the first consultant we saw (a stand in) said we had been put on the waiting list then, so would be waiting while tests were being done. When we saw the consultant after the tests he said we were being added to the list then. I explained what we had been told earlier and when he looked back there was a letter to our gp to say we had been added to the list. Not sure who was right but the consultant said he would add us to the list from the date of the letter. There was a difference of 9 months. It can work to question what you are being told.

[2rebecca]

That sounds very unfair, I can understand if you had cancelled but it sounds as though their policy of booking slots for a year is silly if they have to cancel some appointment and they should just do 3 months at a time. I would complain officially as the system is unfair, if they had to cancel then they should slot you in as a priority, OK not the next week but not next year.

[newmama2018]

@Talkingfrog I was told the first week back after new year that I was on the list and would be down for 14th March. I got the call today saying there had been an emergency and I had been cancelled but would be reallocated on the 2019 list but wasn't a priority.

[Talkingfrog]

I can understand the need to sometimes prioritise someone, but it seems unfair to put you back that far.
I can understand that logistically it would be a nightmare to rearrange every appointment that has been given, but that isn't really your problem. When was your appointment given out? On the assumption that they issue all appointments around the same time in advance, yours should be the next one to be allocated. I doubt they have already issue appointments for the rest of the year yet.
If you confirm and they say the same, find out what the complaints procedure is/ask to speak to the manager.
Good luck

[newmama2018]

@HobnobBob I asked her if I would get the next available slot and she said the list has been completed for this year and I'm not priority for cancellations. She has promised me I will be first on when they reach the 2019 list so it'll be the first couple of months.

I was upset then but now I've calmed down I understand that there must be loads in my situation and I should be grateful I'm even on the list.

[HobnobBob]

If your surgery is cancelled you do not go to the bottom of the list, it just doesn’t work like that. I’ve worked in surgery for years and have never known this happen. You get the next available date. I would get on the phone first thing tomorrow OP and find out what is going on. Go to PALS if necessary.

[newmama2018]

Ok read it all.

They apparently have a long list of patients and have already allocated spaces for the remaining year (cancellations are offered out on a priority basis) she said 2019 is the next lost and I have been put on there as I won't meet the criteria for priority treatment.

It's fertility treatment and treating my endometriosis and PID. Until my UTI's become more frequent than twice a month I won't be a massive urgent need.

Finding the money to go private is a slow process as we have just moved house and used our savings as a deposit. As it's new I doubt we would get a further loan! Ironically by the time we've saved £7500 it will probably be next year anyway 🤦🏼‍♀️

Thank you for all the advice. I have been at work all day and asked a couple of people there what they thought. Another girl had the same experience and eventually got back to the top. However my line manager had said that she will wave the two week notice for LOA so I can tell the hospital that I will be available on a days notice if they have a cancellation last minute. Don't know if that would make a difference but someone suggested that there's not many who would be able to drop everything at super short notice.

[newmama2018]

Sorry I was at work. Reading all the comments now xx

[Pythonesque]

Years ago - and in a different country - my mother was waiting for elective surgery. More than once she was postponed, and on one occasion she postponed it herself as my younger sister had ended up seriously ill and hospitalised. Finally she left a message for her consultant to say, since it kept getting cancelled she'd manage without so take her off. He had her in for her op within a few days - he'd had no idea she was being postponed, and was horrified as he viewed her case as very urgent although it was nominally "elective".

Hope you can chase up the admin side and follow through far enough to get this sorted out in reasonable time!

[eurochick]

I agree with everyone else. This makes no sense at all.

[milliemolliemou]

Agree with other PPs you should phone again to clarify and ask for them to send you an email confirming what was said. Insist on this.

If it's as you've described then certainly go to PALS and the Chief Executive.

[MyDcAreMarvel]

You should be back st the top of the list, it makes no sense.

[TipsNotHacks]

What I’m trying to say is that if it is this procedure you may find that your hospital operates in a similar way so there is no reason why you’d have to go back to the starting line to wait for it.

[TipsNotHacks]

OP are you waiting to have Ovarian Drilling done by any chance? If so I can suggest that you double check that it is in fact the case that you have been placed at the bottom of the list again. Most hospitals perform this procedure on the same day each week, I’m told. When I had mine done I recovered on a ward with about 4 other ladies who had all had it done on the same day.

[FormerlyFrikadela01]

Echo what others have said... clarify if you have indeed gone to the bottom of the list and if this is the case PALs, the chief exec and your MP are the go to. Local paper if you don't get anywhere???

[APontypandyPioneer]

YANBU. You definitely shouldn't be going back to the bottom of the list. You should be down for a cancellation as well as the next available appointment. That's what's happened to every hospital appointment that's ever been cancelled in our household (granted a different issue)

Call them back to clarify and contact PALS and your MP of needed.

That's definitely not ok

[Ljlsmum]

Don’t let them tell you it will be 2019- that’s ridiculous! Surely it’s top of the list, not at the bottom again. If they say anything like that then definitely go straight to PALS.

[ExFury]

I'd speak to PALS urgently if I was you. If they cancel you should not lose your place. Where I am if you cancel you go to the bottom of the waiting list, but if they cancel you that should not apply.

[SleepingInNewYork]

I think being cancelled for an emergency is annoying but completely understandable; however, going to the bottom of the list is very unfair. Hopefully there has been some confusion but I agree with PP about contacting PALS and seeing what they can do.

[mummyhaschangedhername]

Differently not separately.

[mummyhaschangedhername]

I think you need to call up and clarify what was said, and then if correct insist on that in writing.

Also contact your MP and write to PAS.

I found contacting my MP very helpful and they relay should know the problems that we all face, so do that regardless.

Let us know if they clarify what was said. I would also suggest asking for someone senior to discuss your complaint to. I think give what you said you have a very firm case for a complaint and this situation should be handled completely separately.

[Jux]

Are you sure you haven't misunderstood what they said?

[BasilTheCat]

My op next month has been cancelled so an emergency patient with cancer can have it (I completely understand they take precedence) but I have been rebooked to the next list available - it's ridiculous to go back to the bottom of the waiting list! Speak to PALS first!

[bigbluebus]

Definitely shouldn't go to the bottom of the list if you reached the top and they cancelled. Ring them to clarify your position on the list and if they have done that then complain to PALS.

[Ellie56]

Agree it sounds nonsensical that you go to the bottom of the list. You should get the next available slot and everyone else on the list nudges down one place.