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Care Opinion

I was left upset and confused and to...

Story from nhs.uk

"I was left upset and confused and to..."

About: Lincoln County Hospital

What could be improved

Communication between members of the ear nose and throat department and communication with patients . Better organisation of lists for operations.

Anything else?

I was dissapointed to get halfway through my pre-operative assessment before being told that my operation which I had been told was urgent was cancelled (and had at first been arranged for within 8 weeks of seeing the consultant). the new date was arranged for another 10 weeks . I feel this was unacceptable and although the nurse was very apologetic as it was out of her hands I felt very upset and confused as to why this had happened . When I rang to complain I was given the excuse that someone more urgent had come up. I can understand that my operation may have been needed to be cancelled for a more urgent case but cannot understand why I have to wait another 10 weeks when patients who were added after me are being operated on! Shouldnt the whole list moved forward and not me shoved to the back!

I rang the complaints department who said the doctor's secretary would consult with the doctor to try to move the appointment but have heard no more and just got a letter about claiming wasted journey expenses. This is an insult I am more concerned about my health than money!

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Responses

Response from Jennie Negus, Head of Patient Experience, United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust 11 years ago
Jennie Negus
Head of Patient Experience,
United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 07/09/2012 at 16:32
Published on Care Opinion on 10/09/2012 at 09:26

picture of Jennie Negus

Thank you for telling us about your experience, I am very sorry you have had such a difficult time and can appreciate your anger and frustration. The scheduling of operations is extremely complex and I say this not as a means of excuse but to try and explain. I can understand your logic in moving everyone back one step if a cancellation has been made rather than having to reschedule you again 10 weeks later - however there are a number of mainly clinical factors that have to be taken into account when scheduling; for example whether patients are on spcecific medication which they may have to stop for a period of time, or conversely they may have had to take specific medication pre-operatively, or certain conditions have to be operated within certain timeframes. I am sorry, this could perhaps have been explained to you at the time and saved a little anxiety. Please also be assured that we do not cancel operations lightly, the decision to do so has to be taken at a very senior level recognising the impact this has on patients.

This was quite a while ago and I hope that the operation subsequently went ahead as rescheduled, without any problems and that you have since fully recovered. Once again please accept my apologies and my thanks for sharing your experience with us, even after such a period of time it is still valuable to know.

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