"Courtesy"

I have been an undischarged patient of Salford Royal Hospital (Hope) ENT since 1954 and have been under the care of a Consultant for 30 years due to a 'complex ear condition'

I attended the hospital (Dec 2017) with an appointment to see the consultant only to be advised they had retired from this particular clinic and was seen by another surgeon.

As a matter of courtesy and in particular with reference to those patients with long standing complex conditions who should, at the very least, have been advised (by letter) before attending the clinic patient care has been transferred to another healthcare professional.

The consultant replacing mine could see I was concerned at the loss of my surgeon and went to considerable trouble to explain the management changes, offer re assurance of care, and provided excellent treatment.

I owe a debt of gratitude to my consultant but am saddened that the hospital administration did not see fit to communicate the transfer of patient care with their long term 'complex condition' patients which demonstrates a lack of respect to the consultant and empathy with their patients.

To date I am very pleased with the treatment received which of course is the most important issue.

Terry Burnett