cancelled operations

That is appalling nina. It must be bad management to happen that many times. I think the NHS needs to get its act together at times.

DH is waiting for an operation which 'will be in March but the Consultant is working weekends to get the list down so probably before' they said in October. At the time he went for pre-op tests which were done by a competent nurse and watched by a sister. Then he was called in again for pre-op tests. Last week he got a letter telling him that as his pre-op tests were more than 4 weeks before his op he had to go in and do them all over again. He called and asked why and was told that they only needed to do the blood test to check what his blood group was in case he had to have a transfusion! As it is an hour and a half away he asked if it could be done at our surgery and was told it couldn't. So why did they do the tests before they knew when his op was? Why do they think his blood group will have changed?

I hope your friend gets her op soon. I suggest she calls a couple of days before the next one and reminds them how many times it has been cancelled so the don't do it again.

Good suggestion Nonnie I'll pass that on thanks.

My friend has had his knee op cancelled twice - the second time they forgot to let him know and he arrived, starved, and clutching his PJs and toothbrush, only to be sent away. He is due to go in later this month and has just been through his third pre-op assessment.

My friends DD has had 3 assessments which involves a 100 mile round trip to and from London. It's a crazy situation.

Operation is re scheduled for 20th. They are not holding their breath

nina one way to 99% guarantee a bed this time would be for your friend to write a letter to the Chief Executive stating the anxiety caused, distance covered, petrol used etc. keeping it calm. He will be horrified, obviously not knowing what is going on at the coal face. I can almost guarantee that she will get a bed this atime round even if she ends up in a private ward.

Find out his name on line as it is better to address Mr.X rather than Dear Sir. Good luck.

Thanks Charleygirl

I thought there is supposed to be a limit on the number of cancellations that any one person should endure I wonder what the reasons given are.

If it was due to a high rate of contagious illness on wards or in the staff it might be understandable.

That is very frustrating! Another cause is hospitals having difficulty sending patients home. Insultingly referred to as "bed blockers"
Angela Rippon did a very good report for the One Show last night about the difficulties of discharging very frail patients who are occupying beds and really want to go home. People were scurrying around getting essential adaptations done to their houses, care packages etc etc.

I do think that, if you are down for elective surgery, it is the word "elective" that matters as far as cancellations are concerned. You may be in great pain, but you are not, essentially, I'll.

If you have read any of my posts, you will know that I have had a few operations in the past year, and certainly the recent hip operation (6 weeks ago) was cancelled several times over the Christmas period. Yes, I was sad, yes, I was disappointed, and yes, I was in a lot of pain, but nevertheless, I can and could see that the orthopaedic wards might be overtaken by emergencies where people were in a much worse state than I was. And there was noro virus too. The NHS is underfunded, and overworked, and on the whole does its very best.

If you are in extremis, usually you are well catered for. Been there too.

My last operation was eventually brought forward. As I had expected, the whole experience was positive and successful.

We need to campaign to get our NHS the funding and the respect is so richly deserves; yes, complain, but complain to those who are supposed to sort things out. Good luck....

Elective these days means anything that is not an emergency.

Is this the sort of action that's needed, Ariadne?

www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/11364618/Patient-walks-into-radio-station-in-hospital-gown-after-operation-cancelled-at-last-minute.html

Charley, are you really saying that the chief executive does not know what is going on? They all know what's happening, but can do nothing about it.

www.onmedica.com/newsArticle.aspx?id=f6e491c0-699b-42d0-b33f-fd7ac873c7e4

Check the date.

Sorry Durhanjen he can do something about it. A lot depends on the reasons why the ops were cancelled- I would agree if there was Norovirus on the ward that would be a good reason to stay clear.

When my hip operation was shoved to the end of the waiting list - I won't go into the reasons because I need to get to bed sometime! - I went on line and found out the names of the governors of the health trust - it helped that I knew several of them - emailed them all and copied the email to the Chief Executive. It worked like a charm! I felt a bit guilty for pulling strings but then, I was the one in pain!

Tomorrow's cancellation is due to lack of beds, previous one because there was no surgeon available. I can't remember the reasons for cancelling the first two.

I have a similar problem. I am due for spinal surgery and my first op was cancelled when I was actually sat by the bed in the ward waiting for my pre-med. The second time I had a phone call the afternoon before I was due to go in. I am now going through the whole consent and assessment process again, as it is over 4 months since my original date. The two dates were cancelled due to no beds being available, and the ward ring fenced for elective surgery had been commandeered for emergency patients. So, I am not holding my breath for a third date being definite.

Wasn't there a number after which you had to have the op?
Something like 3 cancellations?
I appreciate beds are unavailable but many have been waiting for sometime for surgery, in pain and with deteriorating health/mobility etc.
Good for you caz! Perhaps more should try this!

durhamjen absolutely not! I understand the frustration, but cannot see what that achieved. Had it been an operation for something life threatening, even, there are surely more dignified ways of getting attention? It worked, perhaps, for that individual, but probably did little to change anything else.

I didn't know that there was a limit to the number of cancellations - interesting because it was my third one that was brought forward. But then, the Christmas and post Christmas panic had subsided.

NHS hospitals have been under huge pressure in the last 4 years to cut the number of beds they have. Many consultants have retired early (some because they are fed up with the pressure to increase % bed occupancy). In many areas there are recruitment problems which make it difficult to provide essential services. Cuts in spending on social care. All of these are having an inevitable impact.

Shortage of beds is a big problem. When there is no slack it takes very little to throw the whole schedule out.

Yup and it sometimes seems hard to get through a little bit of hospital bureaucracy to get someone out of the door. On one occasion my poor MIL wanted to go home. There was a certain amount of argument going on as to whether hospital or GP should pay for her next morphine patch. Once I had resolved that by phone calls she spent hours sitting in the pleasantly named "discharge lounge" waiting for her drugs. This was obviously a hospital valiantly doing their best to get people out of the bed and into, um, limbo.
I turned up. It was staffed by a tattooed nurse who looked like a bouncer. A 90 year old woman was shouting across the crowded room to him, asking for the toilet and nurse only had one, slow moving and grossly obese healthcare assistant to help with all errands and patient needs. After a bit of badgering on my part it transpired that MIL's drugs were on the ward. Could I fetch them. No had to wait for the assistant to re-appear...
We sang "Show me the way to go home" in the car.

The friend I mentioned above has just had his third cancellation for op that should have been this Saturday.