my dad aged 75 waiting for a knee op - how can i speed it up (NHS)

[KittySpencersEmerald]

he needs a knee othroscoopy.
has been waiting for 6 months.
is ina lot of pain/ is virtually lame.
is of old shcool deferential " oh no dr its fine" mentality.
need this done then can have a shock on his heart which has arythmia.
has gone from active mountain goat type thing to old man in about a year.

am waiting to tlak to his GP about it - tbh he hasnt got another year to wait.

any tips on how to push it along.
both parents utterly depressed by it.
( mum true to form looking at who she can blame (!))

Every patient has a clock ticking down to 18 weeks. There are strict rules about stopping the clock (to stop us NHS types cooking the books ) I think (not my actual area of work) that being unfit for surgery is one of the reasons. Therefore that's where the heart problem fits in. What you need to know is has that been resolved enough for surgery? Also how much time was left on the clock before they stopped it because I think that will be the timescale in which he needs to get the op. When you've looked at his letters speak to PALS - they will sort this out.

RIGHT update
he was referred on the

wait

NINETEENTH of november

he wil not be seen till late april at the earliest

this is SO SO depressing

sec just said they are fully booked then the surgeon is going on holiday fgs..

You can pay for a private consultation - normally costs about £200 and should be seen in a week or two. Then transfer to NHS list for the op. It gets you seen by the onsultant quicker.

so then you pay for NHS op?
i dont get it
i haev only ever been in a hospital three times adn that was having babies in and out.

adn will he have it at acute hosp?

and how much would a bilat arthroscipy be?!!

No, you then don't pay for the op as its back to the NHS list. So you only pay the £200 for the consultation. Its worth asking your GP how much quicker the actual op would get done in this scenario, sometimes consultants will bump you up the list for the actual op if you've seen them privately for the consultation even if you're not paying for the op.

ok ta!

So whats happening with his heart? usually they like to sort the heart out first then operate elsewhere as it may him less of an anaesthetic risk.

I have to say check you are getting the right story from him because my experience of older relatives and patients is that half of them haven't got a clue and have usually missed out a very pertinent piece of information.
That possibly sounds harsh but as I say usually they like to sort out hearts before knees.

heart was checked out, doesnt need to be done till after the knee op ( IS ARYTHMIA)
SO THEY said have oyur knee done then we will start warfarin etc ( htis is deffo true was there when we did all that)
have rung hosptial on his behalf
yes that is what is going on..

sorry typing one handed - sound like an illiterate.

so what anticogulation is he on now? he sounds like he should be on something.

Anyway back to your original question. Go back to the gp and explain when yr dad will be seen and say that you are concerned as this is delaying his heart treatment. Explain that your father is in constant pain and that this is severely affecting his quality of life, you are now worried that he is becoming depressed(I know thats not in your post but it would be understandable and adds leverage)
And ask gp to contact consultant sec to hury things up.

noting you can do about consultant going on holiday but (from experience) phone the secretary repeat everything you've said to the gp and ask her when you should be receiving the letter for opd. Then ring back if it doesnt arrive and pester.

Consultants can fit people in to clinics if they are urgent. The fact that your dad is waiting on this op to start heart treatment should be enough to bump him up a bit.

Dont be afraid to fight. And contact pals if you need to / threaten complaint if your getting messed about.

Hth - its very stressful all round when waiting for the nhs to actually move.

Forgot to say stress that he is not on his warfarin to gp and ask if that is right.

Usual practice is to start warfarin in any case. Then its stopped prior to op and anticoag injections given. Warfarin is then restarted post op.

I dont know the full details of your dads treatment but that would concern me.

ok am on it

surely cant give warfarin pre op?

yes you can. It has to be stopped a week of maybe few days beforehand. Think it has a 3 day half life. But then have tinzaparin(or similar)injections daily. along with daily blood tests to keep clotting within range.

Depends on how concerned they are about your fathers arrhythmia but if its atrial flutter(common one) then this is standard treatment.

Its a while since i worked in hospital so I maybe wrong about timesale for warfain. However there are other anticoag treatments that replace it under these cirumstances.

you also dont know as yet when your dads oop is going to be. the cardiac team may have thought they were looking at a shorter timescale too. So definitely worth querying.

Why don't they do the heart first.I have arrythmia and it is a bugger to get the anaethetist sorted.I would have thought he would need that fixed to be knocked out.Can you ring consultants sec direct and say he has got worse suddenly?That sometimes does the trick

I THINK SHE is part time only

wil try again now