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Care Opinion

Waiting for referral appointment

Posted By mellifera

"Waiting for referral appointment"

About: Ballenden House

(as a service user),

My GP referred me 6 months ago, and said he believed the wait time would be about a year. This seemed extremely long to me, but seeking private diagnosis would be a major financial stretch so I accepted the wait. Yesterday I called the clinic to find out about my progress on the wait list because I am really struggling. I was told they have not seen any patients in that clinic for several months and don't know when they'll start again - in other words, I've waited 6 months already but the  expected "1 year" wait time hasn't even started to elapse yet. No one has contacted me about the wait at any point, and no one will give me an estimate of how much longer it might be.  

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Responses

Response from Jeannette Morrison, Head of Patient Experience, NHS Lothian 3 years ago
Jeannette Morrison
Head of Patient Experience,
NHS Lothian

Submitted on 01/02/2021 at 17:22
Published on Care Opinion at 17:22

Dear mellifera

Thank you very much for sharing your feedback with us and I am sorry to read that you have been waiting to access services at Ballenden House.

The impact of COVID-19 on services has been exceptionally challenging and we are aware that so many people are now waiting significantly longer than we would like or hope for. The teams have had to adapt, work differently and follow a range of COVID national guidance so this means that we are not able to see people in the ways that we did previously. We are very sorry for this and appreciate how this is impacting on you and other people who are in similar situations.

I have shared your feedback with the team and please can l apologise again for your extended wait for this service.

Kind regards

Jeannette

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