"update on central ultrasound booking office new Victoria glasgow"

Dear glenburnjany,

I have read both of your stories on this matter and can completely understand your frustration with the difficulties in communication you have had around this appointment. I'm really sorry that this has been your experience in what should be a very straightforward process.

Can you give us the phone number you are trying to get, and some of your details (date of birth, of CHI number) in an email and we will try to sort this out for you as well as trying to find out what the problem has been.

Many thanks,

Lorna

If you'd like to give your details to us directly in an email.

Please use

lorna.gray@ggc.scot.nhs.uk

and

I.reeves@nhs.net

We'll try and help you sort this.

Thanks for providing your details.

From the hospital computer system (TRAKCARE) I can see that this MRI scan was requested the day after you were seen in the clinic (26/2).

It's in the request system, and they have the correct home phone number for you on the system. (I can't see enough detail from the request to see if the mobile number is also there). I have added your mobile number to the 'demographic details' page of 'TRAKCARE', so please refer people to this if they claim not to be able to see it.

It is disappointing that staff say they can't see your number when it clearly in the system as you describe. The TRAKCARE and portal systems we use are the same across the whole health board.

This means, whichever hospital or clinic you attend, staff can see the same information in terms of blood results, letters, X-rays etc.

Part of the problems sometimes stem from the fact that there are MRI scanners in several sites in the city. To spread the demand, it may not be the one in the hospital where you were seen in the clinic, or closest to home, that is used. Several departments may be involved in process requests, performing scans, and providing the results.

Scanners are running at weekends, and into the evenings to help meet the demand, and appointments are often given at short notice when spaces become available, which is why we are so reliant on phone numbers in this process.

Which makes it frustrating when it doesn't work, as it clearly hasn't in your case.

As much as I can do today is that I've tried to upgrade the highlight the urgency of this request on 'TRAKCARE' and added your mobile number to the demographics page of the record. I will try and phone the department as well. I'm sorry I can't resolve this for you just now, but will keep trying.

Ian Reeves

Dear glenburnjany,

I'm sorry we haven't been able to resolve this for you, yet.

As discussed by email and telephone, we've reinstated and restarted this process for you, and highlighted the changes in the situation, so the MRI scan request has now been marked as URGENT. We've made sure the correct (home and mobile) phone numbers are held for you on the system, and have emailed you the number for central booking office as well. Hopefully this will work, and the scan will be organised as it should have been from the start.

Having spent some time this morning dealing with these departments by phone, I can see why the process is opaque and frustrating. After getting through to the phone system to a fourth person, they tried to direct the query back the first person contacted....!

It's useful for us that you've been able to highlight this problem on the patient opinion website, after there were no other options available to you.

I can understand that for the radiology department an 'opt in' process for scans will improve the 'efficiency' of the system and reduce the 'Did Not Attend' rate, compared with just sending out appointments.

However, we need to be careful that this 'efficiency' for the scanner, isn't at the expense of providing care for patients who really need their scans, such as you.

We will keep in touch with how things are going, but if you need to contact us again, please do not hesitate, either by the PO website, or email/phone.

Ian Reeves