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Care Opinion

Delays of appointments for acute services pain clinic

Posted By PGREIG

"Delays of appointments for acute services pain clinic"

About: University Hospital Wishaw

(as the patient),

I waited nearly a year to get my original appointment. Once I saw the consultant, I was given an appointment to see the nurse, which was delayed on several occasions due to unforseen circumstances.

My last appointment with the nurse was May 2014. I was referred back to the consultant and an appointment arranged for August 2015. I called thinking it was a typing error, only to find out it is correct.

I complained and asked to go on cancellation list and I am willing to come in at one hours notice. I have now received a new appointment delaying my date to November 2015, again due to unforseen circumstances. This will be nearly 18 months since I last spoke or saw anyone. I think this time lapse, considering the pain I am in is unacceptable.

All that said, I do have to say when I did see the nurse and the doctor, the care and advice given was outstanding.

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Responses

Response from Marion Mark, Director of Hospital Services, University Hospital Wishaw, NHS Lanarkshire 9 years ago
Marion Mark
Director of Hospital Services, University Hospital Wishaw,
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 05/03/2015 at 10:24
Published on Care Opinion at 11:45

picture of Marion Mark

Dear PGREIG,

Sorry you are having difficulty getting an appointment with the Chronic Pain service we appreciate that this length of wait is not acceptable and we have set up a Service Improvement Group with public partnership representation on the group to develop the service to meet the increasing demand we are experiencing.

The Chronic Pain Service is a small specialist service which is in great demand. We try to offer appointments as quickly as possible based on clinical need.

I know that living with a long term condition, particularly when you are experiencing pain can be debilitating and difficult to cope with. I’m sorry that your review with the consultant has been delayed. If you’d like to contact Yvonne Ross, my Patient Affairs Manager on 01698 366558 we can look into the reason for that.

Over the past year the service has been affected by staff shortages. We are working hard to reduce the waiting time for new and returning patients and have been running extra clinics since December 2014.

We have also formed a service improvement group which includes patients, doctors, nurses, allied health professionals and managers to review the service. The first meeting is scheduled for later this month.

I hope that the consultant is able to offer you the same level of care at your appointment as the last time you were seen.

Best Wishes

Marion

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