To be really annoyed that we have a 9 week wait for an appointment for DD?

[TeenyWeenyPolkaDotPeeny]

For context - DD has a suspected inguinal hernia; they’re quite rare and it took a couple of GP visits and taking pictures to be able to get anyone to even examine her or look at the area. Finally had a fab GP who thankfully said rare isn’t impossible and he’s all for taking the unlikely as seriously as the likely. What a gem. He examined her and agreed he thinks she has an inguinal hernia and will need surgery to correct it.

DD sometimes get pain in her lower tummy, suffers random chronic constipation (eats and drinks well we can’t find any other reason) and generally I’m just a bit worried after reading that it can cause infertility if it’s the ovary’s pushing through, and that it just gets worse as you get older.. so obviously I’m quite keen to at the least get a formal diagnosis as I just don’t want to be brushed off again.

It was 23rd December she saw the GP, then she had a letter come through in the new year for an appointment less than 2 weeks later - fabulous!

We turn up for said appointment, sat waiting, suddenly the doctors become ill and were asked to go home and we’ll receive a call to rebook.. I’ve been chasing them for 4 weeks now and was finally given an appointment over the phone yesterday.. that’s 9 weeks away! 😒 I’m a bit annoyed we’ve gone from seeing someone within 2 weeks.. to then have to wait the best part of 3 months to get seen again.

I just feel like a doctor someone is looking at her notes saying “well it’s not going to be that” 😭

Is this an NHS appt? I don’t think nine weeks is too bad tbh. We all have stories of friends and family who have much longer waiting times. It’s frustrating but it sounds normal. It’s just the way the NHS is unfortunately. Lots of people have great experiences but many do not and have much longer waiting times, often stretching into months. I understand care for a notorious area for long waiting times and am currently in an 18 month queue. That’s 18 months, not weeks! However, I just accept it. It’s just the way the NHS is.

Is a private appt out of the question? I appreciate this must be very distressing for you and your daughter.

It’s not too bad in the grand scheme of things. I just think I’d had the luxury of a couple of weeks at a really busy period, expecting much longer.. then to get such a long wait when our appointment was cancelled on the day while we were there feels rough 🤣 plus the chasing and chasing to even get rebooked.

private is very much out of the question unfortunately!

You could see if consultants secretary is sympathetic and can see if any cancellations.
9 weeks not long, but annoying if you were cancelled on the day

Your mistake was going home tbh. They would have found someone to cover the clinic!
I don’t think 9 weeks from then is too bad though. They wouldn’t push you to the back of the list because it’s unlikely, if anything that would perk them up and get them a bit interested.

I had an inguinal hernia ( pretty elderly) and I developed severe pain . I went to the GP and was sent straight to hospital and operated on next day. If she starts complaining of severe pain go to GP/ hospital

My DS had an inguinal hernia, initially we thought it was a testicular issue but one day it looked to be bulging somewhat and he was inconsolable (he would have been about 18m at this point). We took him to A&E and were told by a consultant that he would need it operated on within the next three months, and to bring him in if there was even the hint of a sign of strangulation. Received an appointment in the post for 2 months later for surgery; not great but not ok. A couple of weeks after that, appointment was cancelled and an appointment another 2 months later turned up - so it would have been 4.5 months from the A&E visit where he was told it needed to be done within 3 months! Called the secretary to make a fuss but was told nothing could be done...

In the end we did go private (as prior to this point we'd completely forgotten he was covered by DH's work medical insurance) but it was a real worry, you have my sympathies. I agree that if there's even the suggestion she's developing acute pain, get straight to A&E - presenting with some sort of complications must surely bump you onto an emergency list.

I don't think 9 weeks is bad on the NHS. I read a Guardian article about a man who was a beekeeper, found he was possibly allergic to bees so signed off work - the NHS appointment to determine this life threatening allergy was booked for TWO YEARS time!

Most people go private if they can nowadays

How long do you suggest the op should have sat in a cancelled clinic 🤔

Have you tried contacting PALS for the hospital/trust? They can liaise with the dept on your behalf and might be able to speed things to or even get a quicker appointment elsewhere (not sure if there's anywhere else geographically you could get to for a clinic within a reasonable distance?). Not the same issue but my DS4 had an opthalmology appt a few weeks ago at which the optometrist wasn't there even though it was his six monthly prescription check. The opthalmologist who was there suspected significant deterioration but couldn't verify that without the optometrist input. She said it would be rescheduled in the next couple of months or we could look at our other options (I'm assuming she meant private treatment). I got straight onto PALS via email about how concerned I was about this wait due to the time sensitivity of his sight and it wasn't our fault (not anyone's really) that the appointment he did have scheduled couldn't take place because the HCP wasn't available. I didn't expect much but they were in touch within days to get consent for liaison with the children's eye hospital and the senior optometrist there called me days later with an appointment for the beginning of the following week if we could bring him into the eye hospital (his original appt was at one of their mini satellite clinics). I can't say this will work but it is well worth a try. PALS contact for your trust will be easily found via Google or the hospital website. Wishing you luck and hoping your little one is seen ASAP.

We are 16 weeks in since being referred to peads for unexplained and uncontrollable migraines.

With medication that slightly helps but the doctors will only provide two doses once a month because they need peads to prescribe more or better 🤦🏻‍♀️ so she gets sent home from school every week pretty much due to them.

If she’s in pain, go to A&E.
Should speed things up.

The NHS is f**ked. You need to do what you need to do.

I sympathise, but want to give you a bit of context as to why that’s not so bad really. (I know this isn’t a race to the bottom, by the way.)
I suffer from chronic back pain. I finally had a procedure to help three years after initially being referred.
Likewise a prolapse repair surgery (which was causing significant and embarrassing symptoms).
Astonishingly, for a long-standing issue with one of my arthritic fingers, I had surgery twenty months after being referred to an orthopaedic surgeon, but would like to mention that I’d been ‘in the system’ for this issue for nearly ten years.

The very best thing you can do is to find out the consultant’s secretary’s name and direct dial contact number (you can phone the main hospital number and ask to be put through to the secretary and ask them when they answer). You may also be able to find this information on the hospital website, but be aware that either way, you may find yourself leaving numerous voice messages as IME phone calls rarely get answered.
You might also be able to find an email address or phone number from your clinic letters. Make sure you always give DC’s hospital or NHS number in any correspondence.
Don’t bombard them with calls / emails, but do contact them regularly (every four weeks is reasonable IMO), reminding them of your willingness to accept a cancellation at short notice. Always be polite and reasonable as you want this person to be open to you contacting them.
Don’t hesitate to contact your GP to ask them to expedite the surgery if your DC experiences worsening symptoms, and attend A&E if needed, making sure to say your DC is waiting for surgery.

Could be worse. It’s a 9 month wait for my husband to be seen and he’s at the point where he’s so unwell he may have to leave his job and he can’t even watch TV because it makes him dizzy.

My son has been ill for 2 years. We've been in and out the hospital. 47 times at A and E! Hes had two 5 day stays in hospital. No answers. I pushed and pushed. Eventually got a diagnosis in October. He was kept in on a feeding tube for 4 wks. Came home in November being told would have an emergency followup appointment. It came through for October! Nearly a year later. With a serious, rare, life threatening illness.
Ive emailed the secretary, and after being quite arsey , got him an appointment for April. 9 weeks sounds brilliant.

Yea I know 9 weeks waiting isn’t a bad timeframe - and I’m not complaining by any means (I also don’t feel the need to push to get seen faster she manages fine, just had flare ups which we manage) I’m just surprised by how the wait was 2 weeks, then 9.. after 4 weeks of chasing.

We must live in an area of some nhs luxury as I don’t think I’ve ever experienced the high wait times that are widely talked about with the NHS. Even our A&E are pretty swift, our minor injuries always had me/kids seen and home within 1-2 hours max! Can’t fault them

I know in general the NHS is getting worse, but I (female) had an inguinal hernia as a child in the early 80s. The wait for surgery was over a year....

I have been waiting since 2019 for Endometriosis surgery. My consultant retired and left only one and it’s been years now. I had to change jobs.

Actually, in the current climate I’m amazed you got the first one so soon. My DB has 2 hernias that have impacted his life for over 2 years, he was on a waiting list for surgery for 18 months, went for his op 3 months after his pre op appointment and the op was cancelled because of the doctors strike! He’s still waiting for a new appointment,

That sounds incredibly frustrating. I live quite rurally so I suspect living in a less people-dense area probably helps? But that’s just a guess

Similar happened to me, it was 10 years after suggesting to a GP I had it that I got diagnosed and 2 years until surgery. The last 6 months of that wait was a blur of morphine and clinging onto my job

I understand the frustration of the changing timescales but I don’t think the wait is a problem.

That type of hernia is common-ish in children, albeit less than girls, so I don’t think your worries about someone looking at it deciding it won’t be that is realistic. It’s also a hernia that many watch and wait for instead of move to surgery so in that sense if you end up doing that, the longer appt time makes no difference.

9 week!! I'd be absolutely made up to only wait that long tbh. Which is a very soft state of affairs don't get me wrong. My DC4 has had be referred to a few different secondary care specialities at various points - ENt, dermatology, orthopaedics, orthotics, plus community physio. The only one with a fairly short appointment wait was orthotics which was only about 3 weeks. Everything else has been months and months. ENT was particularly terrible with a 10 month wait for an appointment meaning 12 months from referral to a surgery. One quarter of his life affected by a condition that affects learning and development as well as growth. It's so sad tbh.

You could ask to go on their cancellation list if you are prepared to take a next day appointment?