Cancelled Hospital appointment - is there anything I can do

[toomanyeasterbunnies]

I am posting this on behalf of my DF. He is 85 years old and along with lots of health problems he has Emphysema. He see's a consultant every 6 months. He last saw the consultant in November and was due to see one in June. My DF received a letter to say the appointment was cancelled and he will have to wait until Jan 2015 for the appointment!! He can barely breath. He has inhalers, nebulisers, etc. I think it is outrageous he has to wait so long. I can't help thinking that because of his age they are giving up on him. I have asked the hospital for information on their complaints procedure. But I was wandering if anyone has any ideas to try and get the hospital to move the appointment.

TIA

Easterbunny - could you ask your father's GP to re-refer him to the hospital or ask them to expedite his appointment as his condition has changed. Jan 2015 seems far too long to wait especially as he is 85! Might keep everyone "onside" before going down the complaints route.

I despair with these stories. Another reason why GPs are so busy because the hospitals can't organise a piss up in a brewery. (Sorry makes me cross) sadly only the GP is allowed to ask for appointments to be changed so please go and see them. It may be worth referring him to the community respiratory team if they have one where you are as they can send a nurse specialist in to assess him which could help.

Trouble is the respiratory doctor will be away for some reason and these appointments will have been booked in advance so instead of adding a couple of patients on to the next few clinics to spread them out they are given them the next available appointments. Daft. Oh and tell your MP

It is probably some kind of administrative error.
Absolutely agree with Musicaltheatremum on hospitals' pissing up abilities. The treatment is good but the organisation is frequently lacking.
Please follow it up actively, and keep on pushing until you get a better date.
My parents are elderly and some of the cock-ups are unfathomable.

sorry that is rough :( Can you ring consultant's office direct or ask for a cancellation?

And do contact PALS at the hospital. They do carry weight and have influence in situations like this.

Outrageous.

Ring the hospital and ask to speak to the Consultant's secretary. Explain that DFs condition is deteriorating and he needs to be seen soon or he will be at risk of emergency admission.

If that doesn't help call his GP and say the same thing, asking him to increase the urgency on DFs referral.

Contact PALS - the Patient Advice and Liaison Service- every hospital has one - you can ring, email or go and see them. They are a team there to negotiate for you through all the phone calls and hassle of admin and will get things sorted, especially with outpatient appointments. If you don't make a fuss, then nothing will happen, and if you do, it will happen quick. I deal with PALS a lot and they are great.

Sorry - crossed post.

Contact consultants secretary in the first instance and if you are not happy with the response contact the PALS team at the hospital.

I would find out when the clinics run and ring the secretary to explain the situation. They can get you into a cancelation. The letter will probably be one of those auto generated ones.

Contact the consultant and explain the situation as they have no way of knowing that he is suffering so much - in fact I would've contacted them before now to push to see them if he is suffering that badly.

Definitely contact the Consultant 's secretary and explain that your father cannot wait until January. If his condition is deteriorating rapidly he should also see his GP who should be able to make changes to his treatment or expedite his appointment as necessary.

The six monthly reviews will just be to check how he's getting on, he should definitely see his gp if he's getting worse and get a referral.

I would definitely ring the secretary of the consultant and explain your concern for your father and ask for a quicker appointment. I did this recently for myself and they fitted me in sooner. They may not be aware of the situation. HTH. Let us know how you get on.

PS You can find out the secretary from the website usually.