Should he lie?

[VelvetThunderr]

Ddad was due to go into hospital tomorrow morning for a slightly uncomfortable procedure. However he has just opened the pack of information sent out to him a fortnight ago and he hasn't done any of the things he was supposed to have done in preparation ie special diet, come off certain tablets etc, avoid alcohol for the last few nights before is also one which he definitely hasn't done.
Should he phone the hospital tomorrow and tell them he has flu?

What @Whizzingwhippetsaid

As others have said, the full truth is the way to go here. I understand not reading the info pack - many people stick their head in the sand when it comes to health worries.

i hope it goes well op.

My view is that: People (anyone) going for a procedure on the NHS who do not follow the prep instructions and the procedure has to be cancelled and rescheduled SHOULD BE CHARGED THE FULL COST OF THE CANCELLATION. It is not a free service we all pay for this. You wouldn't do it if you had to pay privately. It's time people who don't turn up for appointments or mess the system around knowingly get charged.

What a waste of an appointment.

Ridiculous someone else could of had that appointment now its to late. Obviously he needs to tell the truth and make sure he does it properly next time and doesn't waste another appointment. It may not seem a big deal but the current state of the nhs people are dying on nhs waiting lists its not a game.

Surely it can't be a colonsocopy or he'd have had a pre procedure phone call.

Why didn't he open the pack when he received it?

What an absolute joke.

Hopefully they're able to offer the appointment to someone else.

It will be to late as they won't have had time to do prep it will just completely wasted

Just call them and be honest. Don't lie about flu or whatnot. Just tell the truth. Far better

Then people would lie and say they are ill, exactly as the OP suggests

He needs to tell the truth.

Of course it is. Presumably if he was paying he would have played closer attention.

😂

If it’s a colonoscopy then they wouldn’t be able to do it if he hasn’t done the bowel prep. Might as well tell the truth and hopefully he’ll get a new date through.

True. So frustrating though, and entirely avoidable. He's been a donut.

Call them up ats the results won't be accurate. Depending what it is, it can be dangerous to not do the prep and raise risk factors for poor surgical outcome.

Call up ASAP as they may be able to shuffle the people waiting forward time wise or get a cancellation wanting person in. Hopefully they can reschedule your dad, but waiting lists for some things are long - believe me I've been on a couple last year, and still waiting, hoping for a cancallation call up.

Tell the truth and say he didn't read the information so hasn't prepared. They may say it's OK or not. For some things it may be recovery will be better or quicker rather than they can't do the procedure.

Except someone else could have had the appointment which they could have been waiting months or years for.

I've had 5 colonoscopies . I have never had a phone call to go over the prep. I've always been given the pack and the powder to drink to clear out my bowel. If Ops father is booked for the morning then the clearout would have begun this morning and taken all day . If the appointment is tomorrow afternoon then the process would have begun this evening with phase 2 tomorrow morning. It's absolutely crucial your bowel is absolutely clear. There is no way to achieve that now. Ops father needs to be honest and to reschedule.

He seems clueless. Doesn't he know he may go to ''back of the queue'' now - which may be along time?

He should contact them and tell the truth, they will have to postpone his treatment. He really can’t lie especially about the medication as it could affect the procedure/recovery and put himself at risk.
It may actually end up that they do it anyway if they have all the information and decide it’s more guidance than essential, but it’s very important that he’s truthful with them so they can make a proper assessment

Same I've had 3 and never had a call prep and instructions where just sent through the post

I used to work for gastroenterology as a nurse for colonoscopies, sigmoidoscopies and OGD.

if it is for the above, the prep is crucial - anything in the bowel that could obstruct the view will not give clear results and will actually be more painful.

He is better telling the truth, as with the flu- we could potentially offer him a screening on the way in to see if he’s positive or offer an appointment for a few days later which still wouldn’t be sufficient for the diet, etc.

it’s always disappointing someone turning a NHS appointment down / not following instructions and it not giving enough time to offer to someone else, people die from late diagnosis, this appointment could’ve been crucial to someone else.

That is what should happen

I've had a colonsocopy and a sigmoidoscopy in the past 6 months. I had a pre prep face to face appointment for the former and a pre prep phone appointment for the latter.