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Urgent 2 week Eye Appointment Referral Downgraded

Posted By Brazil

"Urgent 2 week Eye Appointment Referral Downgraded"

About: Conquest Hospital Roebuck House - Practice 3

(as a service user),

I had a routine eye appointment where the optician found a Nevus that wasn't there previously in any other eye appointments over the years I have been visting the opticians.  The optician did the necessary tests, then requested I came back the following day for more tests.  The following day she said that she was going to email my GP with an urgent 2 week referral for the eye to be checked as it wasn't there before, it was quite large and she wanted it checked thoroughly.  

I then had a week delay from my doctors, as they hadn't put the referral through to the hospital on the Monday when they should have done, and it was only because I called them to chase it up on the Friday, that they admitted they had failed to do the urgent referral requested.  The referral was then done on the Friday (5 days after it was requested) I waited another 5 days, I received no call or appointment from the hospital, so I called the Conquest Hospital, who informed me that my 2 week urgent referral had now been downgraded by the consultant and I wouldn't be seen until the 22nd January 2020, almost 2 months away! No explanation as to why the appointment was downgraded by the consultant, no contact from the Conquest Hospital to state that this had been downgraded.   

I am now very anxious, stressed out and depressed, I am worried sick that this may be something serious (otherwise why would the optician want me to be seen so urgently and demand a 2 week referral??)  Delay after delay has happened and now to be told that the consultant doesn't think it warrants the 2 week referral date, is sickening to say the least, especially when they haven't even seen/checked the eye, and they are only going on notes sent over from my GP, (who I didn't even see).  

I believe this is all to do with trying to not miss targets for the two week referral list and I believe that this could be to the detriment of my vision and my health.  I am suffering from pain, and uncomfortable vision in the affected eye. 

If this nevus turns out to be cancerous, I wonder how the consultant will explain the downgrade decision?

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Responses

Response from Conquest Hospital 4 years ago
Conquest Hospital

Submitted on 06/12/2019 at 13:21
Published on nhs.uk at 14:23

Dear Brazil,

Thank you for taking the time to leave us some details about the recent referral your GP made for you to be seen at Conquest Hospital in respect of a nevus your optician found during a routine eye appointment; we do appreciate patient feedback.

First and foremost, we are very concerned to read of the pain and discomfort you are experiencing with your eye, which is no doubt compounded by the worry and anxiety you will be understandably having at not knowing how the nevus will be treated. The Trust works very hard to provide a high standard of care to all patients, and so we are sorry to read that after an initial delay in the referral being made to our Trust, you have yet to access a care pathway for the nevus. Please accept our apologies for any unnecessary upset we may have caused you.

Unfortunately, we are unable to comment on how your GP handled the referral to our Trust, and would encourage you to raise any concerns you have with this aspect of the process with the Practice Manager for local resolution. In terms of your concern that your referral has been downgraded from urgent to routine, we would like to assure you that a decision such as this is only made after a full review of the original referral and any supporting documentation requested by an appropriate, skilled and experienced clinician. We strive to see patients as quickly as clinically indicated to ensure fairness and parity of service for our healthcare population, and consistently follow national guidance on meeting waiting time targets.

If you are finding the pain and discomfort in your eye to be unbearable, we would strongly encourage you to return to your GP for a reassessment. You may also wish to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) to see if they may be able to expedite an earlier appointment for you on the basis of the original referral and assessed clinical need. PALS can be contacted by email at esh-tr.palsh@nhs.net or you can call them on 0300 13 14 500 where you will need to ask for extension 8090.

We will also ensure your feedback is shared with our Ophthalmology Team, so that they can be aware of your concern at not being seen under the two week wait rule. It is never our intention to be a source of frustration, disappointment or distress for patients, and can only apologise for this being the case. In the meantime , we wish you all the best and very much hope the nevus will be assessed as quickly as possible so that any required treatment regime can commence.

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