Stressed out by a consultant

I sympathise with you I had similar problems with the hospital some years ago.
Has it ever been suggested stress may be the cause of your cough. I only ask because my brother learnt that his never ending cough was due to stress.
I hope you get the problem sorted out and in the mean time try to get some rest it help you feel less stressed.

The word 'allergy' springs to mind.
May?/could be? wrong.
If not considered would it not be worth looking into.?

All I can say is that i understand.
I often feel as if I should be given a job in nhs admin, seeing as I am the person keeping notes, writing down who said what and when.
My gp surgery told me they were too busy to try and find the lost letter which was hand posted through their door.
I had to cancel 3 appointments at the hospital, as it was to check out how I was getting on with new meds requested in the later.

Letter.
As you can see, the delay hasn't helped my eyesight much.

Can you not give him a message and let him know? " Sorry cant do that" she tells me. Why the heck not? I wonder but apparently not part of her job.

Oh yes it is part of her job!

If I have a problem I phone the consultant's secretary, she asks him and then phones me back. It happens rarely and last time I did about a month ago she said he'd just walked into her office and she asked him to speak to me, which he did and sorted out the problem there and then.

DH saw the respiratory specialist last week, she couldn't have been more helpful.

Don't forget a word of praise for the member of staff who finally helped you Poohbear as well as complaining about those who didn't.

sodapop

Don't forget a word of praise for the member of staff who finally helped you Poohbear as well as complaining about those who didn't.

Yes the praise will be in there. If it saves someone else who maybe isn't capable of doing the phoning and chasing from feeling like I did then the complaint will be worth while. Wonder if his secretary will not take thsg dort of message whether he is even aware it is happening?

This all goes to show that you have to increasingly be like a "dog with a bone" to get your basic rights in many contexts nowadays. Im a bit like this and can be very persistent when I run up against a brick wall.

So all power to you for contacting the consultant's surgery and speaking to someone who was prepared to "own" the problem.

I have customers too and sometimes when their packages are delayed I have to contact postal services or the customs in various parts of the world where I may not even speak the language!

It can be helpful to write a letter on tinted paper and send it in a matching envelope as that way you can say "the letter is on pink paper" or as appropriate if the need arises.

It is harder to lose a letter on tinted paper amongst a lot of letters and documents that are on white paper.

Black ink on yellow paper can be very clear and noticeable, and much harder to lose.

Crikey, what a performance, and all so unnecessary too. I am glad your persistence has paid off, but it is dreadful that it is only those with the strength and stamina to persist that get things sorted. Just a small point; my DH too had a persistent cough, and like you had all sorts of tests and antibiotics. It was found to be a nasal drip ( not a runny nose) which was irritating his throat, and it was a side effect of his medication for high blood pressure. I hope you are now on the path to getting an answer and will soon be able to get your life back to normal.

StarDreamer

It can be helpful to write a letter on tinted paper and send it in a matching envelope as that way you can say "the letter is on pink paper" or as appropriate if the need arises.

It is harder to lose a letter on tinted paper amongst a lot of letters and documents that are on white paper.

Black ink on yellow paper can be very clear and noticeable, and much harder to lose.

what a clever idea, would never have thought of that.
Thankfully due to modern technology I can do it on line

If it helps, I had a persistent and very irritating cough for ages and it wasn't diagnosed until I saw a ENT consultant who did a laryngoscopy which showed that my vocal chords were affected by stomach acid - laryngo-pharyngeal reflux. With the right treatment to control the acid, I quickly got rid of the cough and it hasn't come back.

I admire your tenacity OP.

I am also extremely assertive with my health and usually receive excellent attention.

I do feel sorry for those who accept the poor treatment they receive.

Maybe you should speak to the clinical service manager of the department of the secretary who couldn’t take a message. I am not sure why a secretary couldn’t pass on a message and I am sure her manager would be very interested to know this too. I am a medical secretary and this is part of my job. I would be hauled over the coals if a patient told my manager this about me. Our managers take every complaint seriously and always act on them. Also four months for a clinic letter is ridiculous (particularly one with instructions about meds).

I personally would ask PALS to take it up as a formal complaint That’s not been handled properly by anyone along the way

That is shocking behaviour. You are right to make an official complaint.

Sorry meant to add, we had serious issues with a hospital last year looking after a terminally ill family member. When they died, we raised a formal complaint. So many people, when they heard, told me they'd had similar issues across the years. I kept thinking if only they'd all complained things might have improved by now.

Pals are effective and respond speedily

I worked as a medical secretary in a hospital setting for several consultants on a unit - 8 of them in one department to be exact. Your experience was quite shocking to read OP. Sorting your dilemma was exactly part of my remit. How absolutely awful you had to find your own solution to a fairly mundane problem (for the staff - not you I hasten to add!). Shocking lack of empathy. Laziness too.

Just a thought but many coughs are caused by food intolerances, had mine for a couple of years before I gave up gluten.
Absolutely outrageous though and no you won't be the first one I bet.
It is her job what on earth is she talking about.
Good luck with the complaint I bet it's not the first one either of them have either.

I had a similar cough which lasted months and felt constantly fobbed off because my chest x-ray was clear. Finally one doctor who did listen, suggested cetirizine tablets. I've taken one everyday for past 3 years, and it's made an amazing difference.

don't hops doc write scripts for dispensing from hosp pharmacy. that's what happens here.
i mean they are printed but for hosp use only.
then later letter to GP may request continuation.

My cough was due to my medication for high blood pressure. Do you take anything OP?

Lisinopril