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not what it used to be!

Story from nhs.uk

"not what it used to be!"

About: Norwich Community Hospital

I have had both of my feet operated on at the Norfolk foot surgery centre. The first time (2011) was excellent - I could not have asked for better service. The second time (2014) was completely different. I was told I had to have the surgery up at the Norfolk and Norwich when I previously had my surgery in the West Norwich in the same building as my clinic appointments. Surely it is a waste of NHS facilities and time to do this? I had to wait over twice as long for my second operation. Also, the attitude of the two surgeons could not have been more different - the podiatry surgeon I saw for my first foot was lovely and did a great job, whereas the orthopedic surgeon who did my recent surgery was very dismissive and I'm still having problems. The atmosphere of the whole place has changed too - I wonder whether it is because of bad management or the other doctors and nurses using the same building to run an abortion clinic? I have already written to PALS about this.

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Responses

Response from Norwich Community Hospital 9 years ago
Norwich Community Hospital

Submitted on 16/09/2014 at 11:01
Published on nhs.uk on 17/09/2014 at 04:00

Thank you for your feedback about foot surgery. We were very pleased to hear that you had a positive experience in 2011 but disappointed to hear of your most recent experience this year. You comment was passed on to the Manager for this service and has explained that since January 2014 Norfolk Community Health and Care NHS Trust (NCH&C) have not had a podiatric surgeon . This is due to a vacancy and 1 member of staff not returning to work following maternity leave. Because of our situation we have been working in partnership with the Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital (NNUH) . The current arrangement is that NCH&C undertake most elements of the pathway with the exception of the surgical element . Patients requiring a surgical intervention are seen in the theatres at NNUH. The development of this pathway has taken much longer than anticipated which has led to patients waiting longer than we would like . This situation will improve over the coming months with regular theatre session scheduled . We aim to see a return to 18 week compliance envisaged by December 2014 . The Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCG’s) are aware of this situation. I hope this is helpful to you and if you feel you would like the opportunity to discuss further please contact NCH&C Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 0800 088 4449 or by email pals@nchc.nhs.uk Kind regards Christine Little Patient Experience Lead

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