Hospital referral

[BeautySleep]

How long would you say a reasonable amount of time is before it would become reasonable to chase up a hospital appointment?

My DS was referred to urology in October 2020 due to a GP picking up that both of his testicles are undescended. They said this would an urgent referral due to that fact he had just turned 2 and they like to do the operation ASAP (preferably before 1 but it didn't get picked up on time) . He is now 2.5 and have not heard anything at all, before his op he will have to see a consultant who will have to say yes they undescended, then go for a scan to locate them (The GP thought they were in his abdomen as she couldn't feel them in his groin) and then the op. He starts nursery in September and I'm keen for him to have it done before then but I fully understand the current situation and that many clinics are working on a catch up basis.

I've read up on the up and the longer the delay in having the op there is an increased risk of testicular cancer and infertility later in life.

I don't want to be that person who is pestering the department but I just feel like he should have at least been seen by now!

I don't want to be that person who is pestering the department

Seriously, why on earth not? Your son is 100% reliant on you to be his advocate. You said yourself it can be serious the longer you leave it. If I were you I would be angry that it wasn’t picked up sooner and I would call them to chase up today.

Chase them today

What do I say when they say the inevitable of we are working as fast as we can due to covid?

Just say you'll call again in a couple of weeks for an update. And keep doing it until someone can give you a reasonable time frame.

I spoke to urology who said they couldn't tell me a time frame to be seen but said can ring the GP and they can expedite the referral. I spoke to the GP receptionist and they said they can ask the secretary to expedite it but she warned me that consultants are knocking back referrals left right and centre.

I will ring back in a week to chase it up again

Good work OP - keep chasing and good luck!

Definately ring weekly. My son was born with sepsis last year and has had 6 hospital admissions since and i regulary have to book him in for appointments and chase information up. I'm one of those annoying mum's that ring daily and I don't care. It's honestly the only way you get through to them. I work in customer services too and know how it feels when your bombarded daily so I always start with an apology first then ask the question. My son's 8 week check up didn't take place until he was nearly 30 weeks and the only reason why I still took him was for this exact reason for him to have his testicles checked. Don't be afraid to demand an answer or a time frame. My personal opinion only is that the world seems to have stopped for covid. There are still more people dying daily from flu, cancer, abortions etc than covid. It really upsets me that this could potentially affect your son in later life. First thing Monday morning you ring back and ask for an answer. If anything was to happen to your son you would never forgive yourself. Sorry your in this situation and really hope you get answers soon

Good luck OP
Hope you get this sorted

Thanks everyone. I have phoned before to chase but was fobbed off with the Covid excuse. But I think 5 months is a long time to wait. He does have a few of other medical problems but I wanted this one sorting before he starts nursery!

I will ring again on Monday and then weekly from there until I get an answer.

I will update when I hear something different!

DS is 11 and has the same issue as yours, One rather than both though. Thanks to the hospital's Watchful Waiting approach, an op that should have been done 9 years ago may now not happen until after he hits puberty. Bloody ridiculous especially as it could really affect future fertility. DH keeps calling, it's all we can do at the moment.

@WithASpider oh my word! 11, I'm so sorry you are going through this too. When did it get picked up that he needed the op if you don't mind me asking?

When he was about 2 and a half, he's been checked yearly since then and finally went on the list for the op Dec 2019. I think they were hoping his testicle would grow and 'lock' itself into place! Hasn't happened so now we have to potentially deal with an op as he hits puberty. He's not massively impressed either.

@WithASpider that is so so bad. I don't understand why they have left it for so long. I feel bad about complaining after a couple of months, your poor DS has waited years!

I chased up a referral for DS for a dermatologist. He was 'referred' in december except he wasnt! It was just sat in his notes to refer him but no one had actually taken any action. Definitely worth calling and asking about it.

I could have written this OP. My DS, now 2.5 was referred in October 2018 after 8 week check and ultrasound failed to find them, saw a consultant urologist in May 2019 and was referred to GOSH, initial GOSH appointment Nov 2019, first op cancelled Apr 20 and finally had procedure Jul 20.

I wrote to the GP at some point between the October and May to get them to expediate for all the reasons you say. Appointment came quite quickly after that.

@CocoLoco87 the referral has definitely been sent, they could see he was on a waiting list but couldn't tell me how long.

@chilledteacher that's good news (not that your DS had to wait so long) but the appointment came fairly quickly after the GP expedited it. I'm hopeful that once a consultant sees his age they will bring his appointment forward to get it done. How was your DS after the op?

@BeautySleep, he was a bit groggy for 24 hours and it was tricky keeping him off ride on toys (hospital had assured me he wouldn't be interested in them-they hadn't told him this though!) but he was fine and recovered really quickly.

@chilledteacher that's encouraging thanks. Yes I have read that they should keep off ride on toys for a bit, which is why I'm keen to get it done before nursery!

Hello my DS had his op just before Covid at age 2, he's only just had his follow up appointment after 2 cancellations almost a year later.

Just to reassure you that op was surprisingly ok, DS was fine even after surgery and it all healed beautifully. They found the testes but it was a little small.

I think you're right to chase this up as obviously your DS has both testes undescended and you'd therefore want treatment right according to the guidelines. There's no harm in politely chasing. I really hope he gets seen soon.

Rung again this morning to make sure they had got the referral. The secretary said they had it and a consultant would give me an urgent appointment as soon as he had one but she couldn't tell me how long.

I explained again I want it sorting ASAP and she told me she would email the consultant now and explain the problem.

If I don't hear anything I will ring back at the end of the week.

Got a letter this morning, appointment at the end of March. At least it's booked and hopefully things will move quickly once we have been seen in clinic.