Surgery cancelled again. WIBU to turn up to the hospital regardless?

[Wndof]

I've been waiting over a year for life saving surgery. I was finally given a date for 31st August then they changed the date twice, switching my appointment with somebody else and then telling me they'd made a mistake with dates. Finally, 14th September (so tomorrow) was confirmed and I've undergone all of the pre operative tests and assessments, made arrangements for the children, XP secured the time off work.. only for them to text me just now and say the surgery has been cancelled due to a bed issue.

I called the admissions coordinator who has been absolutely terrible throughout and told him that I plan on turning up tomorrow morning and won't be leaving.

I read on here thats what somebody's father did in the same situation and he got his operation.

WIBU to give it a go?

Sorry if I seem dramatic, I just cannot endure this utter shit any longer 😭

Broken hearted yes, that is exactly how I feel.

Thank you to almost all of you who have empathised with how I'm feeling. It's so utterly shit.

The poster insinuating that I'm immature for wanting to do something, anything to help my cause did upset me. It's life saving neurosurgery, not something minor like having my tonsils removed fgs.

I just want to say, if I went to the hospital I would never be abusive to the front line staff and I certainly wouldn't need to be dragged out by security.

Shocking.

longer term, the only way to fix this is to stop voting Tory/SNP.

Vote a party that values healthcare professionals and sorts out social care so people can be discharged.

Is this life saving surgery time sensitive?

No - Mumsnet is funded by targeted advertising that will pop up relevant to the topic within the thread. Its not Mumsnet doing it at all, its automated.

I do think its pretty naive to think otherwise.

I'm so sorry op I've had a couple of minor operations cancelled and jr really knocks you when you e been mentally and physically preparing for it. I really don't think they'd do anything for you tomorrow but I'd be phoning every day for an update for a new app. Really sorry x

Saltyswee yes it was considered urgent surgery. My aneurysm is 10mm, unstable as in growing, lobulated contour with a daughter sac and I have high blood pressure and a family history of ruptured aneurysms leading to death. I'm pretty much a ticking time bomb. I count my blessings every day I wake up to be honest.

This was my aneurysm as of march. Its now 10mm, maybe even bigger.

I'm so sorry OP. That is shit.

But what exactly are you expecting them to do? They can't magic up a bed unfortunately. Do you want them to discharge someone before they are ready to go home? Or cancel someone else's slot (who might also desperate for an operation and been waiting the same amount of time or longer) and give it to you?

Keep calling PALS.

Walk in and collapse.

I haven't got any advice but didn't want to read and run. I can totally emphasize with you. My daughter is a nurse and I have days where I wish she had chosen a different career. The situation is so frustrating for both patients and staff. Moreso for the patients that have the additional stress of being ill in the first place. I hope it really is third time lucky for you. x

Going private isn't always an option - especially if it is specialist surgery as most private hospitals don't have high dependency or intensive care units should complications arise.

@Wndof similar happened to me, surgery was cancelled several times. By the 3rd or 4th time I was so upset I rang PALS. The next day the Manager responsible for admissions rang me with a date and it went ahead. I got to the point where I would’ve had to have come off the list for the surgery because organising everything around it felt too much on top of everything else! I hope you get it sorted.

@Wndof I’m sorry your in this situation.

contact your consultants secretary tommorow to make them aware of another cancellation and contact PALS.

it’s so difficult when a critical care bed is needed post op as if they are full there is little that can be done.

I don't see the point of going in. You can call the admissions number on your letter and state your case but if there's no capacity it's not really any one's fault.
There won't really be anyone to discuss it with tomorrow certainly not the front line staff who don't really control the situation.
If you have an admission number to call, call it to ask what happens next.

I don't have an answer for what I expect them to do. I just want to live. I have children with SN that I need to be around for. I know I'm just a number to the bed manager. I don't expect them to care about me personally. It's just shit and I'm really scared.

I'd write to the CEO, copying your MP.

I’d try it too…
squeaky wheel and all that.
Good luck!

My dad was cancelled on wed having sat around for 3hrs in a gown.
total expenses £60 and a whole day of my time plus the stress of an elderly probably dementing bloke being told the original plan ain’t good enough and they wanted to do a skin graft etc which didn’t really understand anyway , then after going through all that they decided he needed full pre op incase he did tolerate a local anaesthetic anyway.
I mean I can understand but it was very sh*tty given we were cancelled last week due to “ emergency “ and now we have no date to re schedule cancer surgery.
the who thing was planned like a military operation on our sIde - leave from work , dog care , taxis as he hasn’t a blue badge but won’t make it as far as he needs etc etc

Yup, do it

I had a nephrectomy recently and they ended up putting me on the private ward. I guess big hospitals in London have more options. Private ward is really lovely.

I'm sorry, this is shit I know. Hopefully, a good vent on here will help a little!

The only thing I would say is that I absolutely wouldn't want to piss off 2 categories of people:

• Anyone with a sharp instrument in their hand, and;
• Anyone who is in charge of essentially saving my life.....

Just putting it out there.

Seriously though, I hope you get your surgery very soon.

If an emergency comes in they’ll try and step down the least sick patient which then puts a huge amount of pressure on ward staff. Also, please don’t get cross with the nurses, it’s not their fault. Please don’t think bed managers make this decision lightly, they really don’t.

I’m sorry you’re having to go through this OP, it must be very worrying.

Both DH's consultant and GP have told us to complain via PALS about the long wait he has for follow-up monitoring on his kidney stones. They gave the impression that it is only people who complain via PALS that are getting the attention these days, pushing non-complainers to the bottom of all lists.

Don't get me started on bed blocking.The discharge system should be smooth and fast to free up beds. Instead people are sat around on their beds, knowing that they can be discharged, but end up waiting hours for medication and/or paperwork. DH has self-discharged twice in recent years in exasperation after making arrangements to be collected only to find that, at that time, his meds still haven't arrived or the paperwork hasn't been signed off. (I end up collecting meds the next day!) You'd think they would want to get patients out as quickly as possible, to improve turnaround times, but nope.

I think you have nothing to lose, but I would also recommend contacting your MP - they have caseworkers and access particular routes at local ICBs and trusts in terms of complaints.

Gosh, I think some posters are being unnecessarily snippy towards the OP. What happened to having empathy?

OP, I can’t imagine how stressed and upset you must be feeling. I have no advice I’m afraid but I’m wishing you all the best, I hope you get seen as quickly as possible and have a swift recovery 💐

Complain to PALS. Complain direct to CEO of the hospital. Contact your local paper /start a social media campaign about cancellations. It’s not acceptable and I’m sorry this is happening to you.