Hospital won’t rebook cancelled appointment, but I can’t complain

[whatareyouwaitingforr]

I have been on a waiting list for an orthopaedic physiotherapy consultation for 5 months now. I had an appointment booked, but I got a voicemail to say it was cancelled last month and they said they’d “rebook by post”. The hospital uses an app that is instant. When something is booked, it goes straight through to the app.

I know this because I work there. I am in an adjacent department to this one. So I can’t complain.

I’ve called everyday, sent emails, tried everything to get in contact with them. They don’t answer their phones, nor do they answer emails. I’m at a loss, mainly because I know after this appointment it’ll be another 6 months before I can get a scan and I’m due to go on holiday in August. I don’t particularly want to cancel, but I’m worried that waiting for this will make my insurance unaffordable.

Is there anything I can do besides PALS?

The NHS isn’t negligent. It’s actually bloody amazing.

Everyone working at the hospital has appointments, issues and occasional complaints so of course you can use PALS when you have a problem! It isn’t going to be seen as jumping a queue as you’re a patient in the system not a staff member; life gets much easier when you stop double guessing what people may think of you.

If it helps, my DH works for the NHS. I had to contact PALS at the hospital he works for and afterwards the department looking after me massively improved their care and communication. They knew he was my DH as they recognised him. A lot of the time it's not making a complaint, it's asking for help communicating with an uncontactable department.

It was to the OP. I would expect a long wait for anything physio related, and I would also expect to wait as long for a rebooking as the initial booking took. I agree that in some cases - a two week pathway being the most obvious but not only example - it's far too long.

I wouldn’t expect the initial booking time to then carry on into the rebooking - the lead time for the appointment is around 12 weeks. So if they double that, it makes it 24. I don’t think that’s right, they should be trying to get them in asap to a clinic.

To be honest this is all a bit back to front.

If this is about getting insurancec over for an existing condition, it possibly won't matter a jot where you are in the queue for that- awaiting a consultation, booked for surgery etc.

I fully get that you want your condition treated.

However, what is not clear from your posts is how this is going to make any difference to your holiday or your holiday insurance.

Most policies ask if you have a consultation booked and if so, the cost goes up depending on the condition and risk factors.

If you have a scan, you will then presumably be on a waiting list for surgery because that is what you think will happen.

The insurance company won't (IMO) differentiate between waiting for a diagnosis and waiting for surgery.

Your policy will be based on having a condition.

You can take out insurance an tick a box to exclude cover for it.
If your condition is unlikely to worsen on holiday (and not need treatment or emergency air flight home) you can choose to exclude it.

If you aren't having surgery before August it's not likely to change your cover whether you're waiting for a scan or waiting for surgery.

And the bottom line is whether your condition is likely to increase your policy at all- because it is either an added risk needing medical treatment overseas or not.

Have you tried getting a quote based on the various scenarios-

1. As it it now

2. With a scan lined up
3. Surgery planned.

IMO your policy is far more likely to be costly if you have surgery planned .

They do differentiate. Hugely.

Have you shopped around?

The policy is based on risk.

How is your condition going to necessitate cover on holiday?

How many quotes have you got?

I've got friends who had cancer and simply excluded it from a policy for cover as they didn't feel they needed emergency cover on holiday.

Speaking as an orthopedic specialist physio, I'm going to definitively agree with what others have said: walk in to the department. Ask the receptionist nicely to sort it out. If they won't, ask to speak to the lead clinician on site - they will. That doesn't look like trouble making, it's a reasonable and normal thing which people sometimes do when they can't get a result by emailing or calling for whatever reason. You shouldn't need to, but it happens. And putting a PALS complaint in is also a normal and reasonable thing to do.

If what you said is true, you escalate until you get to CQC complaints. PALS is the first line of fobbing off. After that, you get action.

That’s not how travel insurance works 😬

OP said in original post

Is there anything I can do besides PALS?

Why is complaining bad behaviour, especially in a case like this one?

Oh so you think I'm lying.

I think you're the one who's confused.

I can assure you it is how it works. There are special policies for people with cancer and there are some people who don't take out insurance as they know they could get back to the UK if needed at their own expense.

Orthopaedic conditions are not exactly high risk unless you're doing dangerous sports. The cover for an existing condition should not be that different whether you're waiting for an op or waiting for a scan.

International comparative data demonstrates otherwise.

It sounds crazy but send the booking team an actual letter rather than email/phonecalls. For some reason this seems to work better in my experience as it is im someone's hands and they cannot think that someone else is dealing with it.

Can you not just go over there? But if its any reassurance we have no idea who's put in pals complaints or not (obviously unless it's against the Dr currently treating you and will continue to as they'd have to have replied).

As an anaesthetist I've never seen it once in a patients notes. And even if it was seen I'd just be in agreement with you doing so as that sounds like a v stupid system

I may well do this if I don’t get an answer from pals

PALS ia not only for complaints. Its Patient Advice and Liaison. Yes they are where you can complain and get help but they are also the department where you can go to to get assistance and information. They will of course talk to departments on your behalf but please don't assume that it always starts with or ends up with a complaint.

I have never seen it marked in clinical notes either, and I know for certain I have seen the clinical notes of complainers because I have helped them to complain! and no, to my knowledge, there is not a "code" that gets added to the notes of someone who has complained.

@whatareyouwaitingforr do you have an annual travel policy or are you waiting to purchase insurance (haven't read the full thread). If you have an annual policy you have an obligation to declare whether or not you are awaiting for a diagnosis/further tests etc. I have been in that position and simply rang the insurers and spoke to the screening team. My condition was excluded until I received the results of my scan but all other conditions were included. I decided that the risk of something serious happening was minimal so took the holidays we had booked anyway. If you are going to Europe as a presumably UK resident then you can apply for an EHIC card which will give you the same level of cover in EU countries as citizens of that country have. There may well be a condition in your travel policy that requires you to use that first anyway rather than going straight for private treatment. And by the way I do understand how travel insurance works having been in the insurance industry for 40+ years.

This

Go off site and see them?

What is the difference in the quotes you've had if you are

-waiting for a scan/ full diagnosis
-waiting for surgery
-excluding cover for your knee, hip whatever

This isn't about getting well so you can go on holiday , it's all about getting the lowest cost insurance.

I have the GHIC. I need to call them to declare but would much rather have been able to call them and say “this is the issue, this is the plan” rather than just saying “I’m under investigations”. The issue I have is, I can’t really take the gamble of it being excluded. Although day to day it’s not an emergency situation, it can become one, and I then need to be able to access emergency care.