WIBU to still show up to the hospital appointment?

[Cockapoosforlife]

I have a long term health condition which impacts my life considerably, with a sizeable impact on my vision. I have had a hospital appointment scheduled for a while to review the conditions impact on my eyes and to decide if surgery is necessary, this was to take place tomorrow morning. I have just had notice from my mother who I haven’t lived with for a while that this appointment has been cancelled.

WIBU to still attend as they did not inform me and this is the only time I can do the appointment for a long time?

For context I work in quite a high pressure field with my work scheduled far in advance (think 5 years). It also involves working across multiple countries and time zones, to reschedule would place substantial delays on projects. For the appointment to also not go ahead it poses a considerably high chance of total vision loss, as well as raising the risk of unplanned surgery.

This^ is my approach as well, as long as being polite and reasonable.

@Cockapoosforlife in that case you need to use the right language to PALS - 'breach of confidentiality' 'poor information governance' etc. it's not the main reason you're upset but I would be kicking up a real stink about it.

Exactly, I will explain the issue and that there has been a worsening.

I'd turn up and plead ignorance about the text to the wrong number. If there's someone there who can help, hopefully after looking at the system and seeing they text wrong number they will find a way and slot you in plus sort the number issue. Seeing as you are free, why not. Worst that can happen is they turn you away, but it's a little harder to turn away when you're there in person than on the phone

I'd be phoning them first thing in the morning to clarify (or turning up for the appointment if it's scheduled too early for you to call beforehand).

I wouldn't be assuming its definitely cancelled on the basis of a text message sent to a different person! There has clearly been a cock up for that message to go to your mom in the first place if it was meant for you, I wouldn't be assuming the contents of the message were accurate either at this point.

I will be. I can think of other appointments I have had in the past which I would not want my mother to find out about.

That’s what I am leaning toward, the appointment is one of the first of the day and after the fact it was sent to the wrong person I am not the most confident.

There has definitely been a cockup, the appointment is one of the first of the day. Last time I had this appointment, the clinic was a complete mess with timings.

My mum turned up to a hospital appointment. When she got there she was told she wasn't in the list and they had written to cancel it. She'd genuinely never rec the letter. The consultant saw her anyway as she was there!
I'd say just turn up, it's worth a try.

That’s what I am thinking of doing, I always end up being referred to a more senior clinic anyways.

If the cancellation was non-specific then you can’t be certain it was for you, especially as it was not sent to you. I would turn up and at least get the contact information issue sorted out. It is a GDPR breach. And it’s possible the text to your DM was some other kind of cock up.

I received someone else’s urgent breast clinic appointment to my address last year, and at one point all my DH’s hospital texts were coming to me. So mistakes are made.

I will definitely be checking my contact info again tomorrow for this trust and make a PALS complaint. This isn’t the first time this has happened either with this hospital trust.

With PP who said go private, additionally you can request to go private under NHS. Research a specialist in the area and ask your GP or whoever to refer you.

I find the medical people messaging your mum and not you extremely odd. You don't live at home and you are in your 30s?! Even when most (adult) DC are living at home - when they have their own phone, no-one would contact the parents.

Them sending your mum a text cancelling YOUR procedure is very odd. Also, bit short notice sending the message on an evening when the procedure is the next morning. What if the phone they were messaging is switched off/battery dead?

In this situation, I would be tempted to just go, and claim you never got any message. For all you know @Cockapoosforlife the text may not be for you.

When did you mum get the text and how long has she sat on it?

If it’s tomorrow morning I’d still go as you won’t contact anyone before that. Is there a chance your mum has got it wrong and it’s her appointment that is cancelled? Turn up to teh clinic and say your mum had a text cancelling your appointment but you’ve heard nothing so what is going on. But be prepared that you might not get seen if there is no one in clinic.

I completely agree with you finding it odd, I am too to be honest. The hospital also have my most recent up to date contact info too. I think I will still show up to the appointment and claim innocence, it’s just all too odd.

My DM doesn’t attend the hospital otherwise I would have thought that too. The clinic is quite a large one and should still be running, I’m only seen there as I didn’t really fit anywhere else. It was also received after the booking lines closed for the day.

I’d attend, it’s a very serious condition by the sounds of it and they have not contacted you to cancel. So just attend.

Nobody is THAT busy and important. Wait for the appointment to be rearranged and then sort out the time off to attend like any normal person.

I think it’s worth going on the off chance.
As an aside, if you are about to go abroad for work with this condition, are you absolutely sure that whatever travel insurance you have or your employer provides will cover you sufficiently if it should flare up or worsen while you are there?

I think the travel insurance does but I would rather not risk it. If the condition did flair up abroad it would be an expensive fix complicated by other components of the condition.

Sometimes it is not an option to sort out the time off. There is large chunks of time where if the appointment was rearranged to them I would not be able to attend.

Who do you expect to see? Your appointment has probably been cancelled as the person you need to see if unavailable

It’s a large clinic, they usually get me to see a junior clinician before calling in a senior clinician when they realise what’s going on.