Appointments - is this acceptable?

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Northerner

Northerner

Admin (Retired)
Relationship to Diabetes
Type 1
I've always been quite generous in my praise for the way my care and monitoring have been conducted, but I've just had a letter that has annoyed my a great deal! I had a check up in January and they scheduled the next one for 6 months time, at the end of July. However, I've just had this letter that says they're sorry but they've had to reschedule and now the appointment will be in October!

It's not that I'm unduly concerned about the potential repercussions on my health as my control has been good on the whole and I don't anticipate any problems. But I'd love to know why an appointment made for 6 months time has to be changed 3 months after it was made (and obviously still 3 months away), and the rearranged one is then over two months later? Surely something made 6 months in advance should be pretty firmly set, so what could change it? And why the subsequent two month delay? It's not as though I get to see one particular consultant, as it's 'Dr. X's clinic' not 'Dr. X'.

Grrrrr!!!!!😡😡
 
hmmm not good northener seems abit far off the mark reschueling for a further 6 months grr must be frustrating

REgarding my situation im actually taking it further with regards to my surgerys and appointments i was referred on the 18th feb to a dietician and they still say to me they dont have any details of me on there system😱 so when i rang today i lost my cool after so many weeks of being calm , so at this present moment i only have my GP as part of my health care team and it is driving me up the wall all this constant fighting for something i'm entitled to now seeing this post it seems im the not the only peed of person at the moment

hope time flies for you N x
 
Northerner said:
Surely something made 6 months in advance should be pretty firmly set, so what could change it? And why the subsequent two month delay?
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I bet the diabetes specialist doctor is going on holiday 😉 This has happened about 3 times to me and when I go the the new appointment there is always a stand-in doctor! (She's so much nicer than the usual guy so I don't mind!).
 
Something similar happened to my husband, he has osteoarthritis and is in a lot of pain. His appointment was made then changed. The the consultant retiers.

It wasn't until I went down to the doctors and had a good bawl in the surgery about how he was in a bad mood all the time and how I couldn't cope any more with his pain that anything else got done.
 
katie said:
I bet the diabetes specialist doctor is going on holiday 😉 This has happened about 3 times to me and when I go the the new appointment there is always a stand-in doctor! (She's so much nicer than the usual guy so I don't mind!).
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That was going to be my guess, they can't do the appt for whatever reason and that's the first alternative they have available. I've never had then cancel on me but when I've had to change my appointment I've always had to wait at least three months more than I would have done, they are just so busy at my clinic. The staff there are great but so overworked that it's difficult to get an appointment, if you're asked to make a 6 month appt it'll usually be 8 months before they can fit you in. The DSN at my GP surgery is great, although my care isn't with her if I've got a long wait until the hospital will see me I just have to give her a call and she'll see me, give me an hba1c or whatever I need.
 
I havent seen a consultant since feb 08 while in hsp with DKA. i have had one blood test done at docs after i came out of hosp, i was'nt told what my levels were. They were 26 on addmission to hosp. Ive realised that if you dont harrass them, they will just leave you to your own devices!!
 
I do understand that consultants need holidays too, but that's not really the point. I have had two 'consultant' appointments where I haven't seen the consultant I was booked in to see. If a consultant decides to go on holiday, which he will, then they arrange cover whilst he is away, so there should be no reason to change appointments unless you are inisting on seeing that particular person. Unless there is a national shortage of diabetes consultants predicted for the end of July, expected to last until early October...!🙄🙂

I might do as you suggest aymes, and go to my GP surgery and ask for the tests to be done by them. I have to see them anyway at the beginning of June to see if I can stop taking clopidogrel.
 
Northerner said:
If a consultant decides to go on holiday, which he will, then they arrange cover whilst he is away, so there should be no reason to change appointments unless you are inisting on seeing that particular person.
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they don't really arrange cover, one of the Dr's juniors will run the clinic instead, which will mean that is one less member of the team covering the ward patients. If a registrar clinic was to run alongside the consultant then they will have to cancel one clinic.

Nearer the time when you were meant to be seen you could ring up and ask for any cancellations, thats if you are able to be flexible and get the time off work at short notice.

One of the major problems is that people don't turn up for appointments,
 
insulinaddict09 said:
I havent seen a consultant since feb 08 while in hsp with DKA. i have had one blood test done at docs after i came out of hosp, i was'nt told what my levels were. They were 26 on addmission to hosp. Ive realised that if you dont harrass them, they will just leave you to your own devices!!
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I've never seen a consultant, I wouldn't know waht one looked like even if he came up and shook my hand...
 
I can't really see the problem, Northerner? Plenty of notice for a changed appointment. If you have more urgent problems / concerns, then consult your GP, who can chase up specialists on your behalf, if required.

In fact, a reminder a few weeks before the appointment might be more useful to try to prevent some of the "no-shows" that blight out patient appointments. By the time a "no-show" doesn't turn up, assumingthey don't tell the clinicthey're not coming, it's usually too late to call in a replacement patient, which increases delays all round.

During 2008, Addenbrookes Hospital in Cambridge had to postpone many appointments due to moving to a new centre - my annual review was 5 months later than usual, but that seems fine to me. The option to phone / email members of the diabetes team was still open, if I'd needed it.
 
Copepod said:
I can't really see the problem, Northerner? Plenty of notice for a changed appointment. If you have more urgent problems / concerns, then consult your GP, who can chase up specialists on your behalf, if required..
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The problem I have with it is that it is a very poor system that gives out an available slot 6 months in advance which then mysteriously becomes unavailable. Also, I don't really see it as a minor change to the appointment when the new one is nearly 3 months later. I'm not particularly confident that the rearranged appointment won't be changed, as the consultant will probably be ready for another holiday by then...🙄 I'm still in my first year with diabetes and still anxious about things, so for me it seems like a long time to wait to get a consultants eye over my progress.

Copepod said:
In fact, a reminder a few weeks before the appointment might be more useful to try to prevent some of the "no-shows" that blight out patient appointments. By the time a "no-show" doesn't turn up, assumingthey don't tell the clinicthey're not coming, it's usually too late to call in a replacement patient, which increases delays all round...
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The clinic does send out reminders by text message, but they don't work properly on my phone! Not that I miss appointments - I have never been even a minute late for any appointment. I think more should be done to penalise those who simply 'don't show', as I often feel I am being punished unfairly for their attitudes because they undermine the appointment system. My GP surgery has around 150 'missed' appointments a month. My dentist charges ?25 if you miss an appointment and don't give 24 hours notice.
 
Strikes me there are two factors here. Firstly, Northerner (despite his obvious intelligence, wit, wisdom and "muscly legs") is still a relatively novice Type 1 diabetic and is having irritations over his control with more hypos than he would wish despite adjusting his lantus. So how do the clinical team know who to cancel? Secondly, it is the lack of basic courtesy - cancelling without giving a reason
 
I suggest going through your DSN when you want to be seen sooner than your appointment. They would be able to talk to the consultant and pass on advice or get you into see them.

I think it would be a good idea to fine those peeple who miss appointments without letting anyone know. Actually there are loads of things we should fine/charge people for when they take the piss out of the NHS
 
I can appreciate the frustrations of cancelled appointments. However, sometimes it is unavoidable. I am a physio working in NHS hospital and a very specialist area there are only 2 of us to cover 2 hospitals including outpatients and the ward. If someone is off sick or books a holiday we have to cancel appointments as we have no other option. I personally feel bad about doing this but also feel I deserve a break.

During the past few months many of my patients have been cancelled and had to wait a few months to be seen. This was unavoidable as I was diagnosed in Dec, rushed into hospital and was not well enough to go back til end of feb. I did not want my patients to know why as it is very personal. It was not possible to get cover and this will be the same if I book a holiday in the next few months as patients are already booked in.

Diabetes is a very specialist area and will not be easy to get cover for as everyone has there own clinic commitments.

People not turning up for appointments is very frustrating as it could be used for someone else. I get really annoyed by it as I know I could have used that slot for someone who needed it.

If you feel you need to be seen earlier there may be appoinments allocated for urgents.
 
Some interesting responses - thank you! The reason why I put 'is this acceptable' in the hading was because I wasn't sure whether it was commonplace and something you just have to grin and bear. I was certainly very spoiled both in hospital and with my subsequent treatment, which was truly excellent and inspiring to see how much the healthcare professionals have to cope with. The hospital where I was initially treated, Southampton General, is a huge place, so I was astounded to learn that they have only one DSN to cover the whole place! I finally got my 'session' with her a few hours before discharge (learning how to use the pens etc.) and she had to keep rushing out and rushing back.

I know from reading here that there are massive inequalities in the level of care around the country, but hadn't really experienced it as I've never had to use the system as an adult - even when I broke my leg that was in Sweden!

I do think there is an argument for some kind of penalty or contributory system for those who miss appointments or those people who get drunk and go fighting on a weekend and end up in A&E - such a huge, unneccesary waste of resources! I'm all for the NHS, but there is a large segment of society that abuses it.
 
It is always a pain when my GP books a holiday, but he needs a break too. FInd out when all the health care people will be away and don't need an appointment or be sick...
 
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