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Care Opinion

New patient referral time

Posted By Wenbs75

"New patient referral time"

About: Ninewells Hospital / Dermatology

(as a service user),

Appointments

Appointments

I would be grateful if someone within the dermatology department at Ninewells Hospital could advise in relation to waiting time for a new referral appointment sent by my GMP. Following a sudden bereavement in March 2020 I had rapid hair loss and was referred to the service to determine if there was any support that could be offered to me in term of management of my condition. I am fully aware of restrictions that have been placed on outpatient services due to the current pandemic situation, however I have contacted the department appointments team on two separate occasions and on both occasions the response has been less than ideal. Being told that there are other people on the waiting list who have been there a lot longer than me is not helpful in any way. All I want to know given that my symptoms are ongoing is can an indicative time frame for an appointment be given.

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Responses

Response from Leaca Crawford, Senior Nurse, Specialist Surgery, NHS Tayside 3 years ago
Leaca Crawford
Senior Nurse, Specialist Surgery,
NHS Tayside

This member of staff work as a Senior Nurse within Ninewells Hospital

Submitted on 16/03/2021 at 15:37
Published on Care Opinion at 16:48

Dear Wenbs75

I am sorry to hear about your bereavement and subsequent hair loss. I am also sorry to hear that you have not had a satisfactory outcome with your enquires about waiting times. It is not easy for reception staff to comment on waiting times as this information is not easy to gather from the systems they use. Our waiting times do fluctuate a little and at present are unfortunately long. The most recent update I have is that a routine adult general Dermatology appointment is around 35 weeks for a referral made now. Unfortunately, some appointments in the system can take longer (or sometimes less) depending on when referred and what the situation was at that point, this makes it difficult to give a precise, consistent answer to how long will it take for an appointment. I am happy to enquire if there is a way we can update reception staff with a reasonable estimate of referral times. If you are happy to provide your details you can do so by calling our Department secretaries on 01382 633901 and I can look into your current wait more accurately.

Kind regards

Dr R Hearn

Consultant Dermatologist and Clinical Lead

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Response from Wendy Roud, Hospital Operations Manager, Dundee Dental Hospital, NHS Tayside 3 years ago
Wendy Roud
Hospital Operations Manager, Dundee Dental Hospital,
NHS Tayside

Manage operational issues

Submitted on 16/03/2021 at 20:20
Published on Care Opinion on 17/03/2021 at 10:49

picture of Wendy Roud

Thank you for your response which still unfortunately does not give me any indication of when I may be offered an appt I will contact the departmental secretary's to progress this matter. Whilst I fully understand the pressure your service is under but for me personally I am still struggling with hair loss and just want to know when I may get some advice,help, support and potential treatment for this. I have already accessed a private consultation in terms of this but fully believe in the NHS.

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