NHS Routine Appointments

[Gingerkittykat]

I got a letter today telling me my ophthalmology appointment in September has been postponed and they will let me know when I can be seen again. The letter said they are only seeing sight saving emergencies for the foreseeable future, it's understandable because the practitioner needs to be in very close proximity to look into your eyes but worrying for me since they are monitoring something potentially serious with a view to catching any changes while they are treatable.

I'm wondering if anyone knows when that is likely to change? Are there going to be some specialities which will be seeing patients sooner than others? There is obviously now going to be a big backlog to work through too so it looks like it will be a very long time before there is some kind of normality.

My friend has just had 2 gynae examinations under the NHS but she
was bleeding and it could be cancer. I think it is done on the basis
of greatest need (threat to life) but as there were already problems with the NHS there can only be more delays.
I think it depends on the area too You hear of people not getting their
first line treatment for cancer which is scary.
They were already delaying cateracts here till people were going blind
so I guess on the scale of things it is not urgent (!?)

If there's a backlog, there will need to be some prioritisation. It depends how big the backlog is for that service, but I wonder how much is fear of a second wave that they wouldn't just delay it a month or two for you. I had March appointments cancelled for other matters (one was waiting from last year) and am just about to be seen; even if they speed up services there must be ever so many like me who have been waiting a long time, so feeding that delay forward could be significant. Hopefully you'll get something through without too much delay though, how often do they usually see you for monitoring?

I was being seen every 6 months but my last scan results were good so they put me on yearly monitoring, I understand I'm not urgently needing to be seen but it is still a worry. It might be because when they put drops in and look in your eyes then they are obviously only a couple of inches from your face and even with masks it will be risky.

I think this is getting absurd. I've been working all the way through covid in my podiatry clinic and have taken on the work of the hospital clinics because they don't want the risk of seeing patients so I have twice the workload??!
So if I'm doing it why can't everyone do it and just start opening the clinics up.
My spinal injections are 6 months late and I've been told I can't have any until at least December, I'm as stiff as a board but still expected to do two peoples jobs.

It's worrying that there's such a variation by area. My toddler has just been given an appointment for audiology, so it seems our local hospital is back to routine stuff. Are you in an area with higher rates of covid? Really hope you get seen soon, OP.

OP I have scaring on my macular from high BP. I had a phone consultation which lasted two minutes before it became obvious it's getting worse and I need to go into hospital irl.

I dont get why it's a postcode lottery. Its bonkers!

It is getting ridiculous isn't it. I'm waiting for surgery on my eyelid, as I've had a big abscess there since March... No treatments have worked and it's in a disgusting state, I'm embarrassed to go out. But nope, just got to keep doing 4 warm compresses every day, like I've been doing for months now. Just what I need with baby twins! I know it could be worse but it's beyond frustrating, I feel like I will be stuck with it forever. Goodness knows what the backlog must be like now.

I’ve just booked a smear test and vaccinations for my littlest with no problems at all. In fact just started a thread as wondered if not enough uptake for these things - I had a big choice of days but have gone for the first one when it’s allowed (her 3 years and 4 months “birthday”

Ps I know these are completely different things to what a look of people were talking about and hope that everyone gets the treatment they need in this summer window.

Hopefully they'll put an appointment in for you all soon. @Gingerkittykat - ah that's hard, a year is ok but +++ however many months and it can feel you aren't being treated. If you think anything gets worse, make sure you call them, they might have some flexibility of anyone gets to an urgent state. I just embarrassed myself by crying on the phone to my consultant, it was just the relief of having someone take steps to help me at last when I've been waiting so long, and because it's my usual consultant and he actually cares.

Round here it seems still only emergency or Covid is being looked at.

DD has had an ankle injury since December. Everything I've read suggests that the longer it is left the worse it will get, but her appointment to see anyone just gets pushing back and back (now end of September). I doubt that she will actually see anyone this year, and really worry about the long term effect on her ability to walk.
And looking at an ankle surely can be done without being in too close proximity to her face!?

I’m waiting since October last year for ‘urgent’ tests - clinic said be lucky to be seen before Christmas now and aim for next spring instead ... frustrating . They said where there was a bit of a backlog there’s now a complete block of hundreds of patients . It does mean I had an op last October and I’ve never seen a doctor since - they told me after the op I had a lifelong condition that would need regular screening and management, but that’s obviously not gong to happen .

I got quite unwell last week. Fever of 40, shivering, muscle weakness that made it difficult to stand, nausea but couldn’t get to the bathroom. Terrible pains in my lower abdomen. I called my GP, which I’m really bad for not ever doing. Last time I had a fever like that it ended up being mastitis and I was told off for letting a fever of 40 go unchecked. Having been told I should have gone to hospital for it last time, I compromised this time and called the GP. Too terrified to go near a hospital, I’m one of the ‘sheeples still cowering at home’ FYI, so absolutely couldn’t be a bug or any virus as I’ve seen no one outside my house since early March, no shops, nothing.

I was quite shocked tbh because having seen all the stuff encouraging people to access health care again, and knowing that the symptoms should trigger alerts in the nhs, I was so scared they’d tell me I had to get to a hospital.

They didn’t. She repeatedly asked about a cough, a sore throat etc. I said time and time again no respiratory symptoms and haven’t had any contact with anyone so cannot have THE VIRUS, but worried it’s an infection.

All they were interested in was telling me it couldn’t be Covid so not to worry (I wasn’t ever considering it could be?) and I was told that they are not seeing anyone in person, and that they also are not giving out antibiotics unless they know someone has a bacterial and not viral infection. (She neglected to tell me what the decider on that would be... since I’ve had no contact, I’m not sure how it could be anything but bacterial)

I’m fine now. But those three days were terrifying. Completely convinced I could have sepsis or something dreadful and would end up getting gravely unwell. I do think it obviously varies depending on postcode. But why are they encouraging people to access treatment , and then fire walling it even harder than usual.

I am terrible at seeking healthcare, because I know I can’t stand up for myself and at the slightest hint of someone trying to dismiss me I will back off and say it’s ok I’m fine. So I don’t put myself in the position in the first place and it’s led to some really awful situations over the years. I am really worried that after all the spending and cancelling and backlogs on top of actual Covid repercussions , the Nhs is about to have years and years of being even more like Fort Knox to get near treatment.

I had a routine opthalmology appointment last week, moved from March. It was NHS but done in a private hospital, which may make a difference.

It's interesting to see the variation in different parts of the country, the prolonged lockdown is going to leave a lot of people in a bad position medically.

DD was due to be monitored as she's in danger of losing the sight from one eye back in March. It's still not been rescheduled yet - department still closed unless triaged through emergency.

She's now re-developed a squint that had been surgically corrected, can't see her school books to read properly and is reporting headaches where she loses her vision periodically (GP has ruled out neurological stuff).

No update at all on when she'll be seen but she's getting to the tipping point where it's going to be hard to resolve any issues now.

There are no words for how despairing I feel about the impact that this has had on her health and how powerless I feel. I've rang the department a couple of times for over the phone advice and they just can't help- their hands are tied.

It's interesting a couple of people have said they are having or giving treatment outside the NHS. I'm in an organisation which will be seeing people face to face for therapy from next week but the NHS have no return date and say informally they are not expecting to physically see people for months.

Domina, that's awful to hear. I really hope your DD is seen sometime soon and is prioritised when clinics re-open.

I've just called my hospital (on my gp's advice) to chase a referral for a scan that my gp put in back in early May.
Answer: referral is on hold and no routine scans are being done. They don't know what is causing the pain, none had physically examined me and if they aren't doing them now, when rates are low enough for shielding to be paused, there's no likelihood of it being done before next spring I imagine.

I have still been seen for non-urgent appointments (as I needed a physical exam so phone consult not appropriate). There’s not a blanket suspension on routine referrals across the NHS - each hospital has their own protocol, and beyond that each consultant can still choose to see patients if they deem it necessary

I had an appointment in April where I had to confirm I didn’t have COVID symptoms beforehand, was temperature checked on arrival and asked to sanitise my hands at multiple points. Staff were in masks back then but I wasn’t asked to wear one. I have another appointment scheduled in a few weeks where I have been asked to wear one.