To place a PALs complaint toward hospital.

[Pcosfighter67]

Hi all,
A little bit about me, I have pcos and have been trying for 4 years for my first child, been under a fertility and clomid is unsuccessful.
Last October they said I needed an operation on my ovaries (day surgery ovarian drilling) and that I would have before Christmas. Every month they have pushed it along, I was othered a last minute date last month for it to be taken away just 24 hours later. Now I'm being told that the operation will be next year.
Im heartbroken, because of the huge set back im yet again another 12months before we even have a chance of conceiving and we've had to put or 2023 wedding on hold for a year due to the set back too.
AIBU to put in a PALs complaint? The toll its taking on me constantly being let down when I was told to would be before Christmas last year is soul destroying. I feel like I'm not very pushy on the phone and because I don't "fight back" I'm an easy one to palm off.

I'm sorry to hear if your troubles but in this instance a complaint of any kind will not help. This is not not occuring due to the hospital not wanting to or because you aren't asserting yourself. It is because covid has caused a massive backlog in all departments and the NHS has been underfunded for years. There are not the staff, or resources (be that beds, operating theatres, drugs, anaesthetic machines, equipment like syringes).

The government don't realise that even the recent cash injection will not solve the problems. My hospital is putting on extra lists in all departments to try and catch up, but there is literally noone to cover them. The management answer is get agency, but there are no agency left we have been using agency as real staff for several years.

This is what happens when there is no funding for several years, when staff have been overworked and under appreciated and a global pandemic happens to finally finish them off and make them through in the towel and leave their profession

Having said that, if it makes you feel better to register your comments do it.

@EL8888

I would complain to Pals, you have been waiting nearly a year. To me it makes no sense for them to arrange arrange dates and then keep cancelled last minute. They need to take a more realistic approach to their waiting list. Bad news is fertility type things are normally the poor relation and given the leftover scraps. That’s even before covid. Probably not what you want to hear but are you able to pay to go privately?

Things get cancelled last minute for a whole host of reasons.

An emergency comes in needing surgery or the bed.

Lack of beds due to unscheduled admissions.

Lack of staff.

Supply problems for required equipment

With the best will in the world they can not guarantee a planned operation will go ahead when it is planned because the nature of healthcare even at the best of times doesn’t allow that

Unfortunately the backlog of urgent surgery is worryingly high too. Covid has had a massive impact and continues to do so. I was due to have a lumpectomy yesterday, having been diagnosed with breast cancer through routine screening. I caught Covid a couple of weeks ago so it has been postponed for a few weeks to allow me recover. I am hoping that I don’t become one of Covid’s long term statistics as I’m afraid many people have and will become.
I should have had routine screening in 2020 so potentially would have been diagnosed a lot earlier. I had no symptoms so no reason to seek earlier treatment.
Covid sucks!
It is very frustrating to have elective surgery cancelled but having been through infertility associated with PCOs no treatment is guaranteed. I eventually conceived after giving up. I started taking Metformin to control the hyperinsulaemia associated with the condition and conceived naturally. I don’t think the metformin was key but it was more to do with taking the pressure off after 5yrs of fertility treatments, surgery and drugs.

I’m sorry you’re having to wait but you’re not Ill. The nhs has done wonders thro the pandemic and we are lucky to have it still.
Please be patient and your time will come.

I agree with others sorry OP life limiting Illness has to take priority at the moment

How old are you? Under 35 I'd say you still have time on your side fertility wise x

Is it something you can do privately op?

I’m in agreement with the majority of posters that contacting PALS is unlikely to make a difference to your waiting times.

Look into private options (although be warned there are noticeable waiting lists that route too) but I wouldn’t be putting any other area of life on hold whilst waiting right now.

Unfortunately pals probably cannot accelerate your treatment and late cancellations do happen. While I understand how focussed you are on your fertility treatment and how stressful the situation is it might help you get perspective if you could talk it through with a counsellor. There is no obvious reason while you could not get married sooner and hope things will move along.

Im heartbroken, because of the huge set back im yet again another 12months before we even have a chance of conceiving and we've had to put or 2023 wedding on hold for a year due to the set back too

Why on earth are you putting your wedding on hold?

Personally yanbu OP I would complain, and I say that as an NHS worker who complained about the treatment my grandfather received during the second wave- frankly I wouldn't have treated an animal the way he was treated. PALS trend complaints so if no one complains then there's nothing to trend and there's no improvements made. We need to keep the pressure on our MPs and government too- so contact your MP as well. Keep calling to see if there are cancellations. The system is broken, we need more funding, staff and pressure on those making the decisions.

Definitely COVID, sorry I don’t see what they can do. I was put on the wait list April last year for a laparoscopy for severe bleeding and suspected Endo. They told me a few months.

I had my pre op Jan this year and still no date. It’s been 16 months now. I’m still severely bleeding and severely anemic and in pain but the wait lists are just massive ATM with the backlog.

I’ve suffered fertility problems, I know how the panic of time passing without action. Can you have this procedure done at a private fertility clinic?

I'd go private since your needs and priorities for this are simply not attainable with the state of the NHS and their overall challenges at the moment.

@TheWayTheLightFalls

I'm sorry but most countries you can pay 10, 30 even 100k just for an operation so we are lucky really.

I get its frustrating but I'm guessing your operation doesn't come high up on there list of emergencies. They are busy and the NHS is suffering, there's people unable to get help for cancer etc because of covid and busyness so I think in your instance you should be a little greatful

This is precisely why wait times and standards of service in the NHS remain shit. The attitude of cap-doffing, “oh, best not bother them”, “they’re doing their best”, “it’s not so bad, I can wait”, “others have it worse” etc, praying to the great god NHS, while thousands of people up and down the country live in avoidable chronic pain and others pay with their lives for delayed cancer etc treatments. Oh, and we’re all paying for this.

This perfectly sums it up.

You can complain if you want but I doubt it will have any impact on your wait. Services are so stretched due to covid, waiting times for elective surgery at our place is over a year for surgeries like joint replacements and lap choles and these patients are in pain and having their daily life affected. It’s awful.

Elective surgery for fertility will always be the last priority unfortunately. I would go private if it’s effecting your life so much.

Where I live people who are red flagged for cancer are having their investigative appointments cancelled because of covid clogging the hospitals.

It is heartbreaking for you but I don’t thinking complaining will change it

[quote EL8888]@ChardonnaysPetDragon exactly, we’ve paid in and it’s not free! The whole be grateful / you’re lucky is very cringey[/quote]
Not saying people should have to be grateful to the NHS when it offers crap care (or in accessible care) but the old 'we paid in' and it is not 'free' is a load of tripe.

Unless you are a really really high rate tax payer, the amount you've paid in tax or NI since you started working hasn't likely covered all treatment, GP care, labour and delivery & medical treatment of your children (if you have any!) along with free schooling, immunisations, as well as other things provided by the State.

Sorry YABU. I accept it’s hard for you, but lots of people have had operations out back, leaving the in constant pain and no life because of it, why should you take priority?

I also don’t understand why you have to put your 2023 wedding back? It’s two years away. Why not have the wedding next year if you have to wait, then try to have a baby?

I am sure it is deeply upsetting to keep being put back...

But some of us are trying to stay alive. My pretty important 6 monthly cardiology reviews have so far been at 8 month intervals and over the phone... fuck all use to man nor beast since all it really proves is that I haven't yet died.

My symptoms have changed suggesting my heart is failing faster... my appointment that should be next week is now 'probably in 3 months time', and thats WITH my GP sending an urgent letter.

Potentially, I'll have died before that happens.

It doesn’t not matter if I am or not, and I’m
Not going into a discussion of my own tax arrangements what matters is that I, and all of us, pay what is asked of us, but we don’t receive what we ask of the health service.

I think it’s worthwhile complaining so there is a record of it. Everyone that has a complaint should complain otherwise they just pretend there isn’t an issue.
But you really need to adjust your expectations. Complaining isn’t going to get you seen any faster because the NHS is seriously broken right now.

Absolutely complain.
No, it might not get you seen quicker but how can things be improved if they’re not aware.
In my experience it IS a case of kicking up a fuss gets you seen. This is in the case of surgery I had myself and cancer treatment for TWO family members. If it is a case of human error eg someone booking in a procedure when they shouldn’t have because of staffing etc then that needs addressing. A surgeon was called in off his annual leave for one of the scenarios I mentioned above.
Just because it’s ‘free’ doesn’t mean you should accept inadequate treatment. I say this as an former NHS employee myself.

PALS won't do anything. I work in the NHS and the queues for life threatening emergency ops are horrendous. Pals have been asked to issue explanatory documents when they get complaints about things like this and the complaint is documented but there is nothing g else they can do.
Our department (podiatry) has list half its staff and we no longer do ANY routine foot care. We are just fire fighting life threatening injuries and critical limbs and nothing else. Its the same everywhere. No staff because they have all left post covid, no routine care and and everything postponed for years.
They won't be able to help you if you complain. Can you afford to go private? I paid for a private psychiatrist to monitor my complex PTSD because the NHS could no longer do it unless I needed to be admitted with psychosis.

The problem is, lifesaving treatment is on hold too. Though I really sympathise, the wait must be agony.

Also, the balance of doing a treatment like ovarian drilling…..which may not work, and if it does, likely won’t last long term…..against starting up cancer treatment may mean it’s one treatment that is pushed back long term. Would you consider going private? I know they do it privately in the U.K.