This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?

"Dermatology appointment waiting time Monklands"

About: University Hospital Monklands / Dermatology

(as a service user),

I visited my GP about a worrying mole (very dark and itchy) They arranged an appointment for me the next day at Medical Illustration, who were efficient and helpful and told me to call the Dermatology department if I hadn't had an appointment within 3 weeks. I called on week 4 and was told (quite sharply) that if I hadn't had an appointment through then it wasn't urgent and the waiting time was 22 weeks. I understand that the image  would been reviewed by a dermatologist, who obviously didn't see a cause for concern, however the mole and area surrounding  is painful and itchy and I'm not satisfied that it is deemed not urgent from a photograph. I also would like to query the 22 week wait time, from what I have read the standard for an outpatient should be 12 weeks, I quote from the ISD website "From the 31 March 2010, no patient should wait longer than 12 weeks for a new outpatient appointment at a consultant-led clinic. This includes referrals from all sources. " I'm now almost at the 12 week threshold (referral by my GP was mid August) and would like to know if I am going to have to wait a further 10 weeks for an appointment.

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

Responses

Response from Fraser McJannett, Medical Service Manager, University Hospital Monklands, NHS Lanarkshire 6 years ago
Fraser McJannett
Medical Service Manager, University Hospital Monklands,
NHS Lanarkshire
Submitted on 15/11/2017 at 08:56
Published on Care Opinion at 10:57


picture of Fraser McJannett

Dear Scarlett73

Firstly, I'm sorry to hear of your recent poor experience in trying to ascertain when you'll be seen by the dermatology service, clearly we don't wish this for any of our patients.

We have recently had waiting times issues within the service owing to increased referral rates and limited capacity but over the coming weeks we are expecting a significant improvement and I would certainly expect you'll be seen sooner than 22 weeks. That being said if you contact me directly with your personal details I can look into this in detail and will of course be happy to feed back.

My e-mail address is Fraser.McJannett@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk and my telephone number is 01236 713295.

Best wishes

Fraser McJannett, Medical Service Manager

Monklands Hospital

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