To make a PALS complaint?

[everythingihave]

A year ago (to the day!) I was running when I took a step, felt a pop in my knee and immediate agony.

I went to an UTC who x-rayed it and said there was no bone damage. After a lot of back and forth with the doctors on call they said that there was nothing they could do, A&E at the “big” hospital wouldn’t accept me and it didn’t warrant an orthopaedic referral because it was probably just overuse.

I went back to my GP when it hadn’t improved in a month, I was told to self refer to physio.

I did that at the end of July last year. I had a video appointment in January, a face to face appointment in February, and was then referred to a specialist hip and knee physiotherapist. I have been waiting for that appointment since February. My referral was accepted on 28/02.

Every month, without fail, I get an appointment booked that is then cancelled because the “consultant isn’t available”. I have been told I will need an MRI, but that they will first do x-rays to determine if it’s arthritis.

It’s now the fourth instance of my appointment being cancelled. It hasn’t been rebooked for July yet, but I’ve gone private because I can’t wait any longer. I’ve bypassed the specialist, booked an MRI, and will go from there.

Would it be reasonable to complain in this situation?

You've done the right thing. Don't expect anything to happen quickly - our experience is that PALS are ridiculously busy and it takes time to get messages through to the relevant departments. But it's good to have drawn a line in the sand as a point of reference, especially for if things get worse, as there's now a record on their files and it will be included in their beloved statistics.

The NHS is in the state it's in because people have been conditioned to accepting crap "because it's free" and that messaging is just unacceptable and thankfully, the tide is turning.

They’ve come back to me fairly sharpish and said they’ll put me on a cancellation list 🙄 brill, after I’ve had to pay for a scan!

It’s so frustrating. My local women’s hospital - constantly threatened with closure and yet - paradoxically - also constantly overwhelmed with patients - has informed me twice I’ve been “lost to follow up” when I’ve chased my annual appointments. Of course they never are annual, because apparently even a piss-up in a brewery is beyond their capability. I’m on about my fourth PALS complaint for this sane thing, because I refuse to waste hours of my time waiting for a sentient being to answer the phone. I’m sure PALS groan when they see my name, but miraculously, I’m always offered whatever I was promised by a clinician very quickly.

It’s great that PALS can put rockets up their arses, but FFS, this stuff is not hard, if you have half-decent people and systems. JFDI.

Yup! It's amazing how they can magic up appointments etc when they have to.

We were sat in the reception/waiting area to see DH's oncologist once when a pleasant old guy was trying to make a sequence of appointments for his next course of chemo and the receptionist was being an awkward sod - the guy had brought his list of dates for the blood test, consultant appointment and then the several dates of the course of treatment, but the receptionist was having none of it and telling this guy he couldn't have the blood test date he wanted, and she was rudely talking over him as he kept trying to explain that it HAD to be that date to fit in with the consultant appointment x days later and then course of treatment start y days later, otherwise the later dates wouldn't go ahead because he knew that the blood test result wouldn't be processed in time (from prior experience). It's exactly the same problem my DH has suffered for years with his cancer treatment. Receptionist kept saying "no appointments available". Anyway he got called through to the consultant, and we were still waiting when he came out, with the consultant in tow, and the consultant TOLD the receptionist to make the appointments as per the patient's list! Funnily enough she suddenly found that there were appointments available on the dates he asked for after all! Some of them are either incompetent or on some kind of power trip. Of course, she gave the old guy the usual "death stare" once the consultant had gone back to his office.

I suspect that the relevant consultant is either off long term sick or has left, and no manager has organised locum cover.

Certainly complain. If nobody says anything then nothing changes.

Write to your MP

I was waiting to see a rheumatologist for six months, just a week out from the appointment it was cancelled because they wanted me to see a different consultant and I had to wait 6 more months. Three times they cancelled that appointment and then made it for when I was on holiday so I rang and was told “well now you’ve cancelled it, it will be another year before you can be seen.” I was furious so wrote to my MP. I couldn’t see the point of contacting PALs.

My MP contacted me to sign forms so he could use my details when he contacted the hospital and miraculously I got an appointment within 4 days. The consultant wasn’t particularly friendly, I admit, but I got my appointment and my treatment so I’m not bothered, tbh.

@Badbadbunny absolutely! Poor DM is also having cancer treatment, for some reason her cortisol needs to be measured at sparrow fart o’clock which was missed at her first blood test, so she was summoned to return to clinic v early the next morning where she would be “first in the phlebotomy queue”. When she arrived - earlier than told - there were already scores of people waiting for bloods. She politely explained that she would miss the boat - again - if she had to wait till they were all done. Officious witch barked at her to wait her turn, so she did. Another phone call the next day - why wasn’t it done earlier? We explained. So back again the next day where I got extremely grumpy with the poor receptionist and she eventually relented. So DM - and her crappy veins needed for chemo - had 3 blood tests and about 9 contacts from the clinic - just for bloody phlebotomy. This must happen day in, day out - so why aren’t they set up for it?

I suspect the costs of repeating things due to staff errors dwarfs that of missed appointments. It’s another day, another cock-up with mum’s treatment.

I hopped your DH is making good progress 😊

But won't you have to get someone to read it, then action what's needed? Is this included, or will you have to pay again?

The report is included in the price. I’m hopeful I will be able to pull a string or two to be seen, if not you pay for a consultation at a private hospital, with an NHS consultant who can then get you on their NHS waiting list

Yup, changing consultant, like moving hospital, is one of theirs ways of fiddling the waiting lists.

When my DH has his private MRI scans (the NHS don't have the one he needs!!), they do a full detailed report, along with the full suite of images, all emailed to DH/his consultant/his GP, and all posted to us too on a CD! Very impressive and efficient - all done within a couple of days of the scan, and the report includes both technical (for the consultant) and lay-man's (for DH) language so the patient can understand most of what the scan shows.

My only issue is I’m getting myself really anxious about the results now. I don’t have a consultant referring me, so it’s just down to me to interpret and work out the next steps