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I hate feeling as useless as I do right now

Posted By LouiseB

"I hate feeling as useless as I do right now"

About: Royal Cornwall Hospital (Treliske) / General medicine

(as a service user),

I suffer from Spondyloarthropathy & Facet Joint Osteoarthritis & have been on Biologics since 2014.

Unfortunately, due to liver function irregularities, I have been unable to do my Biologic injections since Christmas & consequently I’m now in severe pain.  I was told by my consultant Rheumatologist & my doctor to contact the Pain Clinic at Treliske Hospital in Truro to ask if would be possible to bring forward an appointment to have 6 spinal injections to ease my condition until I’ve had further investigations, scans etc.

I rang the pain clinic & explained why I was asking for a date asap & the person that answered said there’s a waiting list you know, in a tone that made me feel really uncomfortable as if they were annoyed that I should even ask the question at all! I tried to explain again that I didn’t want to skip the queue but I had been told to by my consultant in exceptional circumstances but they didn’t seem interested & just said I was on the generic list & would get the appointment when it was my turn.

This member of staff showed no empathy to my situation & I found myself apologising several times for being a trouble as I hate feeling as useless as I do right now but they didn’t seem to listen or care that I’m experiencing problems at the moment otherwise I never would have called. 

I finished the call & I cried. 

Staff attitude

Staff attitude


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Responses

Response from Michaela Johnson, QI Manager, Quality Improvement, Royal Cornwall Hopitals NHS Trust 5 years ago
Michaela Johnson
QI Manager, Quality Improvement,
Royal Cornwall Hopitals NHS Trust

Submitted on 05/02/2019 at 09:46
Published on Care Opinion at 16:26

picture of Michaela Johnson

Dear LouiseB

I am so sorry to learn of the recent experience you had upon telephoning the Pain Clinic, my name is Michaela and I work within the Patient and Family Experience team at Royal Cornwall Hospital. I am saddened that you felt the staff member you spoke to on the telephone made you feel uncomfortable and showed no empathy to your situation.

The fact that you were in a lot of pain and were following advice from your consultant should have been listened too and appreciated, the attitude you encountered is not what we would expect any of our patients to receive and please accept my apologies for the understandable upset this caused you.

I am concerned that you are still in severe pain and would really like for our team to have the opportunity to look into this particular event for you; if you would be happy for us to do so or if there are any other concerns we can help to resolve for you, please contact our Patient and Family Experience (Complaints) team by leaving a message on 01872 252793 or email rcht.patientexperience@nhs.net (office hours Monday-Friday 9am-4pm). A Case Worker will get back to you within 3-5 working days to discuss your concerns with you.

I am sorry again for your negative experience and the distress this has caused you, I hope that we will be able to help you further.

With kind regards

Michaela Brewer, Patient Experience Coordinator

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