hospital waiting list - is my DS even on it yet?

[Weeteeny]

My DS's GP referred him to the ENT unit at our local children's hospital 4 weeks ago.

1 week ago we received the much awaited letter from the hospital , low and behold no appt date on said letter. One is requested to call the tel no attached to arrange an appt, and guess what all the call handlers are busy. A recorded message asks you to leave details and they wil phone back. Guess what, I have been calling for 4 days now and still no return call.

Really REALLY frustrating. Does anyone know how to cut thru NHS red tape and actually speak to a human being instead of a recorded message? I have tried the hospital direct who put me thru the same blooming message.

Meanwhile the lump on my DS's neck is increasing in size. Present since October or before, were advised it is a lymph gland reacting to prevous infection. Now it is increasing in size, (golfball size now). I am telling myself it is probably nothing to worry about, however "probably" is not really good enough when it is my 3 year old DS and I have a family history of lymphoma.

Incredibly frustrated at lack of reply from hospital. How hard can it be to receive a referall, open an diary and slot in a date?

Is this how hospital waiting lists are kept down and targets met, i.e. he is not actually on the bloody waiting list yet?

Sorry this is a long rant, frustrated and concerned for my DS, and trying to do the best for him. Have just made another GP appt to check him out and to see if they can do anything about appt for me.

If you can afford to would urge you to see the consultant privately (ask gp for referral)- we have done this for ent and got transferred from there to the NHS waiting list for grommits op. The grommits were fitted the same week as our 'initial' nhs appt would have been.

Getting your GP to chase is good. And I do think this is a case where going private might be a good idea to speed things up.

You could also try finding out the consultant's name (GP or hospital website) and asking the switchboard to put you through to their secretary. And/or contacting the hospital's PALS service (patient liaison) who should guide you through the system.

Personally, I'd expore private AND get the GP to chase while I wrote a formal, assertive but polite letter to the chief exec of the trust copied to the chief exec of your primary care trust (PCT commissions services from the hospital). This is, in effect, a scam to get round the waiting lists targets. Whether that is the deliberate intention or merely carelessness.

I think you need to kick up a fuss at your gp's when you go. If this lump has been there since October and is now growing it needs sorting out. Is there another dr at the practice you could see who may be more proactive ? Not wishing to worry you but my dsis had a lump on her neck when she was a child,that the gp said was nothing and eventually my mother took her in and saw another dr who had her in hospital that same day as it was actaully tb - she is fine now.

If not, a private consultation would fast track things.If you do go that route phone the secreatary of whichever consultant your dr is referring you to and get a provisional appt pending receipt of the dr's referral letter - you will proabably get to see someone next week that way.

Thanks for replying Kath, his dad and I discussed this last night and it may be the path we take if we have no reponse soon.

I imagine that the childrens ENT will have a long waiting list also. I feel for all the DC's and their families who may have a more serious/worrying condition/no means to go private and they are put thru all this nonsense. It all adds to the stress of the situation.

Phone the PALs service - its not good enough that you can never get through, and don't get a call back.

However, the reason that you aren't just given an appointment is that it means that they don't have lots of toing and froing when they send out appointments, then people can't make that appt or the time is inconvenient, and either they just don't turn up or ring and try to move the appointment, but then of course they've done the next couple of weeks worth of appointments by that time...

Thanks for the replies, I am going to kick up a fuss at the GPs and also if/when the call handler eventually calls back, expressing of course it is not his/her fault but the system.

A letter to the chief exec of the trust is a good idea too, I think I will do that even if I do get a resolution today. It is a very poor system that just adds frustration for parents who are already anxious/concerned for their DCs.

My mum is up in arms and threatening to go to our local MP, just what we need - granny on the war path. Actually I wouldn't want to mess with her, so perhaps that is a good thing.

Glad your LO is fine now WTISFT