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.

I'd go and see what happens

What a mess. I'd be ringing, appointments and the secretary and checking, also asking whose contact details they had, checking things and then writing to pals. I'd also be asking that my case was referred to the senior consultant permanently. It's no good being a patient under the registrar or junior doctor, if they call the senior consultant every time, you want to be listed under him.

I'd also arrange a meeting to see him privately. And at that appointment then ask to be seen by him permanently on the nhs. You need surgery, so why aren't you fighting for this, in a systematic way? You need to be more clinical, like a detective, investigating and taking notes at every stage, attacking it from all fronts, following up with emails and thus a paper trail.

It's not unreasonable to attend entirely, but be aware the most likely reason for the clinic to be cancelled is because the most senior staff are absent, and so if you turn up there may well be no one suitable to see you. It would be unreasonable to agitate to get seen when that is just not feasible - I once had to answer a complaint from a patient about a short notice clinic cancellation - I recognise it was inconvenient, stressful and worrying for them but I was in ED having a missed miscarriage and there was genuinely no one who could have just subbed in for me so there was nothing else to be done (doctors are people too, who have stuff crop up, as well as admin howlers now and then). If you have had a deteriorating condition and are under specialist care with a named team then contacting that team via the secretaries telling them that and that you need an asap appointment or asking if they would advise eye casualty seems right. I'm afraid work related difficulties will have to come second place.

Is it the case that you are generally seen by a more senior doctor after a junior member of staff assesses you? I’m not sure you’ve told us 😭

@Wimbledonmum1985 only 8 times, haha

Yes that's why i felt compelled to comment - i don't cancel clinic when my juniors are away but do when i am!

If you're overseas with your employer, thry have medical insurance so there should be no cost to you if anything happens.

Check the policy, make sure you're covered as the bill goes to them, not you.

Good luck when you call them. I'm hoping it's all a mistake x

I guess you can, but with the knowledge that perhaps the doctor isn’t there or that your appointment won’t go ahead. You’d be better phoning up the consultants Secretary and explaining

Worth double checking as it’s a pre existing condition.

Re PALs complaint, there’s no GDPR breach is no specific info (you said it’s not got your details on). Can’t you just update the address / phone numbers on file. Seems a bit OTT wasting limited resources in PALs teams on this type of complaint. They haven’t disclosed any of your medical info to your mum. You’ll just get a standard worded complaint response, as it’s not worth investigating. Just resolve it so correct info is held

I worked in clinics for a number of years, I wonder why they continue to let you seen by junior dr’s who then have to pass you over to a more senior one when they must know your rare condition? Our consultants would have made sure you would only be seen by them, probably inviting the juniors into look/learn.
The nurses would know (either by knowing you or by experience) that you should only be seen by the consultant.
On occasion we phoned patients to say that their consultant was unavailable on their appointment and rearrange it for them as it was pointless coming as they could only be seen by them.

The text message says the appointment has been cancelled with the date, time, and location. The number they have on the text is also correct for the hospital.

I am entirely unsure why, the clinic is also more geared towards an entirely separate issue on a separate part of the eye.

i have a good relationship with my mother but not everyone does, if this had happened to DP for example it would’ve been terrible as he does not speak to his mother.

The hospital has also had the contact information updated and changed which happened at the most recent appointment.

👆Seconded

What day is the appointment? I had a cancellation during the strikes, then a call to confirm something, and it was an admin error where i hadn't been cancelled at all. You need to talk to the admin for the actual team, explain your sight deterioration and get them to book you in. They can also check/ update your contact records. If the appointment is today then just go in, otherwise call/ email.

No work project trumps eyesight, talk with your employer more clearly about the problem.

Hope it's all a massive error and you still get seen

@Cockapoosforlife this is still PALS worthy, please do not listen to posters further down.

For instance I worked for people getting diagnostic scans for cancer. We'd have a few people beg us not to speak to their family members as they didn't want them to know they were being tested until they knew the outcome. Nothing to do with whether they got on or not. A message saying 'your scan has been cancelled' would have been therefore potentially distressing.

I got a text message the other day saying my surgery had been cancelled. The surgery in question was a C-section to deliver my twins... They are 5 😂😂😂

The NHS text system is having an absolute nightmare right now. There's a large chance it's a mistake. I'd go and say you know the system has been having issues... After all they sent it to your mum 🤷‍♀️ may not even have been for you! good luck! And seriously the actual King takes time off for his health. No work thing is worth losing your eyesight over. Please look after yourself!!!

I would turn up and try my luck. If they cancelled the appointment I’d use the time to reflect on my boundaries and priorities when it came to my work and my health.

Your health is worth more than any job!

call the hospital first thing and check your appointment, if your 'job' is so important go private I'm sure they will pay?

I’ve had two text recently telling me my appointments at the women’s hospital for maternity care have been cancelled - my youngest is 4 this year 🤣

Op, if the worst happened and you died tomorrow, your work would have you replaced and forgotten about by the end of the month.

Don’t put your eyesight before any job, no matter how important it seems.

I thought it just said your appointment is cancelled and no detail?

I’ve got a complex eye condition too.
I get texts confirming any eye appointments. This is followed up by text reminders 24 hours before any appointment.
Surgery was cancelled twice and both times I received a telephone call from the secretary.
I was also informed by telephone the day I was to have oral surgery, it was cancelled due to a major trauma coming in.
Ring the hospital first thing this morning and ask if it has been cancelled. I think there has been a mix up.

I would turn up as I hadn't actually received the text. May be a wasted journey but you never know!

I recently had an operation. Went in, gave my name, was asked to take a seat. Then had a phone call from another hospital asking where I was! The text, email and later I received was for the wrong hospital, my surgeon was at a different hospital waiting for me. As I'd been dropped off as I could not drive after surgery the hospital had to pay for a taxi for me.

Mistakes do happen!!

I would still go in, my DH has had several hospital appointments in recent years, there’s been quite a few mistakes made, he’s had an appointment with a Consultant cancelled twice since December, one by an actual phone call, doctors strike the day before and again this month by letter. The hospital have also rung our landline despite updating their records on every visit, to tell him he was booked in for an urgent scan, the following day, when he had one that day. We couldn’t get through, left messages, emailed but nobody rang back.