"Urology - poor flow of information"

Anything else?

I had a one stop visit on 17th January 2013 in the Urology department. The initial service I received was very good. The staff in reception were really friendly and helpful.The nurse who took me round who also conducted the flow test could not have been more pleasant and reassuring. All nursing staff who conducted the cystoscopy were very professional and caring.Unfortunately it was after this point where I think I was lost in the system. I had a nearly two hour wait to discuss the results with the consultant. Although he probably did every thing he had to correctly, I was left with an overall feeling that he was exhausted and going through the motions. I did not feel listened to at all. Nothing conclusive was found from the two tests performed on the day and it had got too late for the ultrasound that had to be performed - so I went home. The ultrasound of the kidneys was re-scheduled for 3 weeks later. Again the professional conducting the ultrasound was perfectly professional and caring. I was told that I will be contacted by the consultant with the result. I heard nothing for several weeks and then got an appointment for a CT scan on March 10th. I tried to ring the department many times to ask why the CT scan had been requested and could never get beyond leaving a message on an answer phone. I never received any reply from any of these messages. I went for the CT scan and again had no feedback from anyone for two months. In desperation I phoned my GP practice and was told by the receptionist that some kidneys stones were detected on the CT scan. Finally I got a letter to see a consultant at Urology on June 4th - nearly 5 months after my first visit to the 1-stop clinic. The consultant said that the kidney stones were insignificant and they would see me again in a year. At this point I had the my first opportunity to respond that actually I still had some of the problems I had in January. He immediately referred me to the Gynaecology Department. I now have appointments for another ultrasound and a hysteroscopy at the end of August. I cannot help to feel that the impossibility of finding someone who could listen to me after the 17th January has potentially wasted 8 valuable months to get an answer for my problems. The health care professionals I met - especially all the nurses - were caring and doing their job - but I feel something was wrong with how the whole system operated. Once I became a patient of the Urology Department, my GP was reluctant to do anything as I was already in the care of the Urology Department. But in fact, I was not really in the care of the Urology Department. Tests were performed which in reality indicated that there was nothing significant wrong with my kidneys, bladder etc. I think Urology dismissed my case in March when the CT scan did not show anything significant. However, it took nearly another 3 months before someone had the time to tell me and give me the opportunity to respond.