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Care Opinion

Life is on hold

Posted By Shenna

"Life is on hold"

About: Western Isles Hospital

(as the patient),

I have severe pain in my legs and back and have been unable to work since the start of June.

I had an MRI at the end of June which showed problems. Referred to Neurosurgery In July and still waiting for an appointment. I’m on a concoction of painkillers but even then there are some days I can’t leave the house, even moving from room to room is a struggle. I want to get my life back and return to work (currently on SSP and running out soon), but that’s just a dream at the moment as I believe the wait for an appointment is around 6-7 months. Life is on hold.

NHS guidelines state:

Waiting times standards

The current waiting times standards are:

18 weeks Referral to Treatment Standard

12 weeks for new outpatient appointments

6 weeks for the eight key diagnostic tests and investigations

These standards represent the upper limit of how long a patient should expect to wait, the vast majority of patients will be seen sooner.

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Responses

Response from Denise Symington, Patient Focus Public Involvement, Clinical Governance, NHS Western Isles 6 years ago
Denise Symington
Patient Focus Public Involvement, Clinical Governance,
NHS Western Isles

Lead Advisor to NHS Western Isles on Public Engagement

Submitted on 18/12/2017 at 13:04
Published on Care Opinion at 13:14

Dear Shenna

Thank you for taking the time to give us your feedback, I have received a response from our Planning Team, the issue you raise is one that the team is aware of and had been discussing recently.

The team have advised me that you are having to travel to a mainland hospital for treatment and therefore you are on the waiting list with Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

The waiting time for neurosurgery at Queen Elizabeth Hospital is currently long for several reasons e.g. reduced theatre capacity and consultants retiring. They have advised that therefore the Queen Elizabeth Hospital have to see patients in order of clinical priority and the date added to their waiting list.

We very much welcome feedback from our patients on their experiences, I apologise that you have been caught up in this particular set of circumstances and I hope that you will soon hear of a date that you will be able to travel for your appointment at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital.

Regards

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Update posted by Shenna (the patient)

Thank you for your response, unfortunately I could not update or edit my post as I would have liked to do. After posting my story I received a cancellation and have had a consultation at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital and I am now on the surgery waiting list.

Kind Regards

Shenna

Response from Denise Symington, Patient Focus Public Involvement, Clinical Governance, NHS Western Isles 6 years ago
Denise Symington
Patient Focus Public Involvement, Clinical Governance,
NHS Western Isles

Lead Advisor to NHS Western Isles on Public Engagement

Submitted on 19/12/2017 at 09:37
Published on Care Opinion at 09:59

Dear Shenna

Thank you for updating me on progress of your appointment with the Queen Elizabeth Hospital. I hope you hear soon about your surgery and that you will soon be feeling better.

Kind regards

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
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