About inflexible NHS appointments?

[RedLemonadeNTaytos]

I’m willing to be told AIBU if there are any NHS hospital staff that know better than me, but I am SO frustrated today with the attitude of the guy I just spoke to in the ultrasound department and need to get some perspective.

GP referred me for a scan due to heavy periods & bleeding between periods. I got an appointment within a month but the day before it I was ‘pinged’ by Track & Trace. I phoned the appointments line & the hospital switchboard repeatedly that day and the day of the appointment to tell them I couldn’t make it l, but never got any answer. I also sent an email to the generic appointments address. I think I tried the phone about 30 times, though! (Luckily I obeyed T&T, as I did actually have covid).

Anyway, called GP to explain and ask to be re-referred. Letter came through 3 weeks later with an appointment time but it’s on the first day of my new job. Not ideal, in fact a massive pain, as I am attending a large staff meeting as their new manager in the morning, then going on an expensive and non refundable bit of training in the afternoon.

Finally got through to hospital on the fourth day of trying the ever ringing line, hoping to rearrange l, and was told because I had ‘DNA’ one appointment, this was all they could offer me, they couldn’t give an alternative date, and I will need to go back to my GP to ask to be re-referred, but they may NOT offer me an appointment because I have ‘failed to attend’ two appointments.

I wasn’t expecting to be given any date or time I fancied, just an alternative to my first day in a new job. It just seems so bureaucratic and time wasting, and the reasons the guy on the phone gave were jumbled and didn’t make sense and he was really bloody rude!

Why is the system so inflexible?

at the people on this thread twisting themselves into knots to defend a system that is not fit for purpose.

Yanbu and should complain to PALS, hopefully you will get a rearranged appointment that way. Having to go back to your go for them to do yet another referral means things will get delayed and is a waste of your gp's time when this is all down to beaurocracy.

I had similar when trying to rearrange a consultant appointment. He had said he wanted to see my after my 36 week scan to discuss birthing options and then despite being able to see when my scan was for booked the appointment the week before the scan with another appointment a week after. I had to contact his secretary to ask to cancel the first appointment and ask for the second to be moved from a telephone consult to face to face. It took a week before she said that was OK and I had to ring a further three times to chase.

My husband got a failed to attend appointment
It was one that the department had sent him a letter cancelling it

@Kazzyhoward @HmmmmmmInteresting I don't think PP was suggesting OP gives up the job... Just asks them for a day's AL/to start a day later.

[quote ashmts]**@Kazzyhoward* @HmmmmmmInteresting* I don't think PP was suggesting OP gives up the job... Just asks them for a day's AL/to start a day later.[/quote]
But they said OP should decide which is more important, her job or her health

Send a copy of your email cancelling the first appointment along with proof of isolating and proof of your new job to PALS.

@HmmmmmmInteresting Yes, as in is it more important not to inconvenience her new boss, or to make an appointment that will benefit her health? That's how I read it anyway

@HmmmmmmInteresting

They do have one in my area for certain referrals so it obviously can be done. Surely it would be more efficient.

This would be absolutely ideal and contribute to the paper lite/free aim most trusts are working towards at the momet.

The problem is you can't just buy a booking system, plug it in and it's done. It has to go through huge amounts of testing, approvals, board meetings and clinical risk assessments (to name a few things) and all of it costs money (for the system, the project team staff etc), of which the NHS barely has enough to fund the staff it has

Complain. Or just call on a different day and try another receptionist.

@IceCreamAndCandyfloss

You can pay privately and book at a convenient time but free healthcare can’t be as flexible due to the sheer number of people using it. We are very lucky to have it.

don't be ridiculous.

The current system is exactly why people ignore guidelines and will turn up despite testing positive for example. It's very unhelpful.

It's also not just one universal booking system that can be used across trusts and surgeries etc. Every trust will want something different and there are many out there. You then have to add the costs to develop the systems to work with other systems.

The entire thing is a mess.

Appointment systems are a nightmare. Currently wading through this with an elderly parent and the systems require everyone to be online or checking emails or using a mobile - my parents don’t (in spite of my efforts). Dad recently had an appointment letter (which was great) turned up for his appointment in good time to be told that a) there was no clinic ever on that day and b) that they had no record of him at all….funny that because he’d had surgery and a week in hospital with them at the time. Never got to the bottom of that one.

This system of just allocating patients random appointments is outdated and clunky. I have no idea why appointments can’t be made in conjunction with the patient. Either an online booking system, or by asking them to phone the office. So much time must be wasted sending out unsuitable appointments, and then people having to try to chase to rearrange.
And with Covid and self isolation, there should be a simple way to cancel in those circumstances, eg a dedicated text or email. And patients certainly shouldn’t be penalised for it!

YANBU but I think this is mostly down to an error/person dealing is useless. I have had to cancel 2 asthma clinic appointments in hospital due to Covid symptoms - one I rang about on the day of the appointment.

There have been no issues with me getting a new appointment- I had to change the latest one they gave me and there were no problems.

YANBU

I needed a scan and they only offered 8am every day.

I have no childcare available and they wouldn't allow a young child in so I had to miss them all

You can pay privately and book at a convenient time but free healthcare can’t be as flexible due to the sheer number of people using it. We are very lucky to have it.
Plenty of countries have free healthcare AND a functional booking system. It's not rocket science.

I had a FTA notification from the hospital for an appointment I missed because the letter inviting me to attend was posted the day after the actual appointment. The NHS aren’t very good at paperwork and logical thinking it seems.

Got taken into hospital as emergency. am disabled and was hooked up to lots of stuff.
Was told as it was so close to pre booked scan, no point in ordering another. But organizing to go down to pre booked scan (same hospital) not possible and they wouldn't cancel it, so was a DNA. Received someone else's cancelled one a week later with the department aware I was on the ward. Except I was on a trolley in a corridor waiting for a different test that was running late, when I should have been in the scan.
No. No one could talk to each other, so second DNA and no scan as I'd failed to show up twice and couldn't have an emergency scan as I had them per-booked before I collapsed.

I would agree with the suggestion of contacting PALS.
You aren't being in the slightest unreasonable. You had no alternative other tgan to cancel the first appointment when you did, and you are giving plenty of notice about the second one, meanong it can be offered to someone else.
I wonder if the person you spoke to has misinterpreted Trust policy? I know there's slmething similar at our local Trust but it only applies if you fail to attend without notifying them.
You shouldn't have to choose betwern getting the investigation done and starting your job. It isn't a matter of one being impoand the other not. Plenty of health conditions are important but don't necessitate dropping everything else in life. My DS is waiting for surgery and yes, it definitely needs doing but once we'd agreed that, the next thing the surgeon asked was if there are any times we cant come because of booked holidays, work pressures etc. Obviously there are situations that are so urgent that they have to take precedence over all else, but a lot of the time that's not the case.
The course of action this admin person is suggesting not only delays the OP's care unnecessarily but it creates more work for the NGS as a whole and will cist more money than simply moving her into a different slot, so it needs to be challenged.

as an NHS employee (Although not someone who books appts but someone who does speak to the people having them) YANBU. Our service will move appointments wherever we can. There is no point us being inflexible because we would end up with loads of wasted appts. I cant say we would get you a sooner one, it might be a month later but we always try. I know why staff get frustrated because lots of depts will have that rule and the staff are powerless to change it and will have to go by the guidelines albeit the guidelines are shitty. We don't have that rule and i am glad.

Thanks for all the comments so far. I think I am going to complain to PALS about this ‘DNA’ thing as it’s just not correct and I do have proof (of T&T, of having covid, of trying to contact them etc). I’ll also let my (lovely) GP know what’s happened, too, as he was very eye-rolly about them not answering the phone the first time. I mean, I know the NHS is stretched, but be honest about it, don’t put the blame on me!

The ridiculous thing is the latest appointment is a month away. I’m giving plenty of notice it isn’t workable. There is no way I am missing my first day in a new job, it just isn’t possible. Literally any other day would be better! You’d think I was asking for the moon.

I had a "did not attend" letter last week. The department never sent a letter offering me this appointment in the first place.
It should be much easier to arrange / rearrange appointments in my opinion. You really shouldn't be marked down for doing the right thing and isolating especially when there are large signs on the doors of medical centres / hospitals informing people not to enter if they have symptoms or are self-isolating!

I’d give it one more try to rearrange. If you’re not getting anywhere, ask to speak to a supervisor. If that doesn’t work, contact PALS.

We DNA patients who ring to cancel too late for us to give that appointment to another patient, no matter what the reason. It’s the way that the hospital records its activity, and the number of appointments that were wasted. However, the response you received when wanting to reschedule when your appointment is a month away is not usual., and , quite frankly, ridiculous. Very frustrating for you, but I’d give it another go, so you can at least have the satisfaction of reporting to PALS that you’ve tried everything!
Good luck, OP.

Twice cancelled. You'vd really just cancelled one. I'd say the ping one doesn't count.