More chaotic/time-wasting NHS admin

I attended a local "wound clinic" after surgery to have my wound dressed, 7 times in two weeks, after every appoinment I got a text asking me to complete their online survey. Happy to do so, great service, except the link was broken. I also get annoyed at letters confirming appoinmtents I've made over the phone for which I received an instant text.

Just had an email from the surgery about a health review. the form instructed me to choose a suitable appointment from the selection below.

The form listed one date and one time. I assumed that I must be able to scroll down for alternative dates, but no, it is that date/time or ring(sigh) the surgery to make an alternative appointment.

I might go down your road Supertinny and email Admin, suggesting a change, but i am not hopeful.

What I don't understand is why in this day & age the hospitals dont send texts or email. Why use snail mail more expensive.
My doctor and the pharmacist both use text & email.

I recently experienced treatment at the hospital I work in. I received a notification for an appointment via the new (and very expensive) electronic patient record system. It had a 'greyed out' reply button, meaning there was no way of letting them know electronically whether or not I was attending.
3 days later I received, in the post, a paper copy for the same appointment.
Back at work I sent an email to the 'good ideas' department (yes there is one...!) and suggested that for patients who have signed up for the electronic record system there should be a built in way of acknowledging receipt of the appointment and a confirmation of attendance button. If no such acknowledgment is received after say 3 days then it should automatically trigger an appointment letter to be sent.
Amazingly they took up my suggestion, although lord knows why they couldn't have thought this up themselves when building that particular aspect of the system......!

What is needed is quietly assertive consultants.

We took DD to the local hospital for a booked operation. At great inconvenience we booke in at 7.00 am as requested. When we got to the fron tof the queue and said her name, there was clearly a problem, but we were told to go and sit in the waiting room, which we did. An hour or so later we were called back to the desk and there was DD's consultant.

We were told that his session had been cancelled the previous day, but for some reason neither she nor another patient had been notified. They had also forgot to inform the consultant, who was there and ready for his surgery slot.

He stood at the desk and politely but firmly made it clear, that he was there, two of his patients were there and he intended to operate on both as planned - and he did!

Many years ago my late DH had a pre-admission appt prior to his foot operation. He was told he would be in hospital for at least a week and would not be able to put any weight on that foot for several weeks. He had the op on a Friday, stayed in overnight and we were rung mid-morning on Saturday to say we could collect him and to bring up a wheelchair. We were a bit surprised and asked how we were to manage at home if he couldn't use one foot and leg. A physio arrived with crutches which DH had no chance of being able to use. I said we'd been told he would be in hospital for at least a week so the staff nurse said in that case I'll have to ring the bed manager and find him a bed. Unbelievable. This was pre-planned surgery. He had a further foot op two years later, on a Tuesday and the consultant said you'll be home on Friday for your lunch. Friday came and there was no-one available to discharge him. It was the bank holiday, he needed a plaster cast on his leg, the plaster room is closed at weekends and bank hols so he had to stay in until Tuesday when his discharge paper was signed at breakfast time but the plaster room was so busy he didn't get home until early evening. Five extra days in hospital.

M0nica

Perhaps they use Fujitsu.

Quite!

My husband received a letter for a face to face appointment with a consultant. He then received an email confirming said face to face appointment. Two days prior to the date, he received a text confirming the face to face appointment. It was in another town, and when he turned up for the appointment, he was told it was meant to be via the telephone. The consultant insisted on fitting him in which added more work for him. Our family will be eternally grateful for the treatment my husband has received, but the systems are in a dire state and let the staff down.

DH sent NHS letter stating an appointment had been booked for him. Attached was a map of how to get to the hospital. The letter didn't state where the procedure was booked - the map was for a hospital oover 2hrs from us. They had enclosed the wrong map. We questioned it as we had to rebook the appointment due being on holiday.

growstuff

rosie1959

My daughter has been in hospital for 15 days today she is being discharged. Physio cleared her first thing she is still waiting for a prescription and sick note and apparently they are short of beds not surprising if it takes hours to do two quick things in order to free up her room.

My experience is that patients in that situation are moved out of the bed and into a dayroom.

No she will not be moved as she is a MRSA carrier so has been in isolation
Still waiting for her to be discharged after over 7 hours of being cleared by physio apparently now they are going to take some painkillers from the ward supply and then we will have to go back again tomorrow to pick up the rest.

Greciangirl

I tried to cancel my partners eye clinic appointment as he had to work that particular day.
All,I got was the answerphones for the medical secretaries.
No one answers the phone. Ever.
After numerous tries I gave up.
I’m not sure what the secretaries are doing all day, but they are unobtainable.

I ended up phoning pals to ask the eye clinic to answer their phone.
Or to get back to me when I left a message.

In her final years Mum was given 2 walking sticks and a commode. She never used the commode and, when she died, it was still wrapped in the original wrapping. We were told not to return it. We did, however, by dropping it off at our local hospital who said it was okay to do so. We gave the sticks to charity. It is all such a waste.

rosie1959

My daughter has been in hospital for 15 days today she is being discharged. Physio cleared her first thing she is still waiting for a prescription and sick note and apparently they are short of beds not surprising if it takes hours to do two quick things in order to free up her room.

My experience is that patients in that situation are moved out of the bed and into a dayroom.

Nannapat1

To the poster who finds complaints about the NHS tedious:
The NHS is not free. It us free at the point of delivery funded by taxes.
Whilst I am grateful for the concept, no one surely can be grateful for ineptitude and time and money wasting. The who organisation needs dismantling and putting together again in order to make the most of time and resources.
I and those dear to me have, btw, received care from the NHS which has varied from excellent to appalling. It seems to depend on where you go, what treatment you need and who you get.

A massive organisation does not need wholesale dismantling to rectify admin flaws. In fact, re-organisation always results in more glitches until they're sorted. It needs the admin to be sorted - not dismantling.

When I go to the eye clinic I get 4 separate letters sent to me. 1 for each of the tests and 1 for the consultant. The appointments are 5 minutes apart.

The appointment line can take up to 90 minutes to get through to someone, it is also used as the general hospital number. It is soul destroying to hear you are number 35 in the queue, so I guess lots of people give up.

I tried to cancel my partners eye clinic appointment as he had to work that particular day.
All,I got was the answerphones for the medical secretaries.
No one answers the phone. Ever.
After numerous tries I gave up.
I’m not sure what the secretaries are doing all day, but they are unobtainable.

JaneJudge

sorry rosie, I meant to add I hope your daughter is ok and home soon for a much needed rest

Thank you she has badly broken her ankle and has had two lots of surgery but is now very frustrated trying to escape muttering no wonder the NHS is in a mess if it takes ages to do simple things.

Metra

A few months ago I had surgery for cancer and on the whole my treatment was very good. Post surgery I was prescribed compression stockings with the request for the prescription being sent to my GP. Six weeks later along came a pair - wrong colour and wrong size. I went to the surgery, asked the receptionist if they could be changed, but was told to return them to the pharmacy. Unfortunately, the pharmacist said that they could not be returned. I popped in to the Lymphoedema Dept of my local hospital and they again wrote to the surgery with the correct prescription, sending me a copy. A month later 2 compression sleeves arrived, not stockings, so back to the surgery where they said that they would again reorder. Another month later 2 more pairs were delivered, this time wrong colour and ankle length rather than below the knee.

I wrote to the surgery and once again they have reordered and are treating my letter as an official complaint.

I did consider buying my own stockings but they are £76 a pair which I can't afford. The surgery will have to bear the cost of 6 wasted pairs as well as the time spent in dealing with the matter and I have had to do without my prescription as well become more and more stressed. Grrh.....

My husband has Lymphedema and has has exactly the same problems as you we have a large bag of incorrect stocking that have been sent ot prescribed. They are very expensive but they cannot take the incorrect ones back. Absolute madness and a waste of money

sorry rosie, I meant to add I hope your daughter is ok and home soon for a much needed rest

they are always slow to discharge, especially when the hospital pharmacy is involved

But it’s ’our NHS’ of which successive governments tell us to be so proud!

My daughter has been in hospital for 15 days today she is being discharged. Physio cleared her first thing she is still waiting for a prescription and sick note and apparently they are short of beds not surprising if it takes hours to do two quick things in order to free up her room.

Metra. Sorry to hear about your stocking saga.

About 10 years ago I had laser surgery on a vein in my leg. I had to go to hospital and get measured before my surgery. On the day of the surgery the surgeon told me that I “might” need special stockings. I said I had already got them. He said “it’s up to you whether or not you wear them but we have to provide them as it is NICE guidelines.” What an absolute waste of money if they are doing this all over the country. My nurse friend told me they cost over £50 even then and they are no good to anybody else as they are made to measure.

*it is free
*the whole organisation

I'm trying to type with 3 year old granddaughter lying on me!

To the poster who finds complaints about the NHS tedious:
The NHS is not free. It us free at the point of delivery funded by taxes.
Whilst I am grateful for the concept, no one surely can be grateful for ineptitude and time and money wasting. The who organisation needs dismantling and putting together again in order to make the most of time and resources.
I and those dear to me have, btw, received care from the NHS which has varied from excellent to appalling. It seems to depend on where you go, what treatment you need and who you get.

Nicky7of7

I would advise everyone to log into the NHS app and check their GP app. I was appalled that so much of my information on the system was wrong. It said I had been seen and all test results had be discussed with me. I haven’t seen anyone and cannot get to see a HP having been told there are no appointments for the foreseeable future. Time for a change me thinks.

Yes, I did that. I went through the last year with a fine tooth comb and wrote a letter with all the mistakes, including that I don't have diabetic neuropathy (even though I have prescribed painkillers for it), but that I have been referred to an obesity clinic, but declined (even though I have never been obese in my life and am not even overweight).

I'm afraid I've found the hospital's IT system much more efficient than the GP. Given that there is no such thing as continuity of care with GPs now and clinicians have to rely on written records, some of the mistakes could have led to inappropriate care.