Care Opinion

Text size

Theme

Language

Videos in BSL or ISL
Help with language translation
Help with reading or listening

My biosy results withheld from me

Posted By caringwq79

"My biosy results withheld from me"

About: Victoria Hospital / Oral Surgery & Medicine

(as the patient),

The orthodontic department at the Victoria hospital withheld my biopsy results despite me asking several times by phone.  I am entitled to know my own results as soon as they are available, and the delay has caused me a great deal of stress and frustration. It has also put extra strain on my wife, who is currently pregnant. I went into the department to ask for my results and was told by the doctor there that asking for them is unfair to other patients. However, I don't see how this can be the case, as all patients are entitled to have their results as soon as they are available.

When I  went into the department to request my results in person, I felt that staff took great offence, instead of offering understanding and support. This was very upsetting and added to the distress of the situation.

I find it extremely unprofessional for a health board to act in this way. Patients should not have to chase their own results, nor should they be made to feel like a problem for asking about them. I hope this matter is taken seriously so that no other patient has to go through the same experience. 

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Amy McIntyre, Senior Dental Nurse, Oral Maxillofacial / Orthodontic Service, NHS Fife 2 days ago
Amy McIntyre
Senior Dental Nurse, Oral Maxillofacial / Orthodontic Service,
NHS Fife

Submitted on 22/08/2025 at 14:18
Published on Care Opinion at 14:22

picture of Amy McIntyre

Dear caringwq79,

Thank you for taking the time to share your concerns with us. I am very sorry to hear about the stress this situation has caused you and your family, and I appreciate how important it is to receive biopsy results as promptly and clearly as possible.

I would like to reassure you that your results were not withheld. Sometimes pathology results can take longer than expected to be returned to the department, due to the detailed nature of the analysis and wider staffing pressures. At the time of your enquiries, your results had unfortunately not yet been received. Once results are available, it is our usual practice to arrange an appointment so that a clinician can share them with you, explain their meaning in detail, and answer any questions you may have.

I am sorry if this was not clearly explained when you contacted us, and that you felt unsupported during this time. That is certainly not the experience we want our patients to have. Your feedback is valuable, and we will share it with the team to ensure we communicate more clearly with patients in future about likely timescales and next steps.

Please be assured that as soon as your results are available, we will arrange for you to be contacted and offered an appointment to discuss them directly with a clinician.

Thank you again for raising your concerns. Your feedback is important to us and will help us improve the service we provide to all our patients.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k