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Waiting Times

Story from nhs.uk

"Waiting Times"

About: Royal Eye Infirmary / Ophthalmology

I have nothing but praise for the medical staff of the REI, However, the waiting times are now incomprehensible. My last consultation was on 23 February 2017. At that time I was told I would be seen again a year late so that my condition could be monitored. After a year I contacted the REI to remind them of the need for an appointment as advised by the consultant. I was told there was a waiting list and that I would have to wait a further 9 months as appointments were made on a chronological basis. Thus, assuming the management accepted the consultants view that I should be seen after one year, of my previous appointment and my follow up appointment should have been scheduled for that time, the waiting time appears to be 12 months plus 9 months that's 21 months waiting for an appointment! I'm unsure if this is due to my age (I'm over 65) and that there is an ageist agenda here or whether the REI management discounts the consultant's view of further appointments and uses a different criteria for scheduling appointments. I find a 21 month waiting time beyond belief.

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Responses

Response from Alison Stanton, Complaints and PALS Manager, University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust 6 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Alison Stanton
Complaints and PALS Manager,
University Hospitals Plymouth NHS Trust

Submitted on 24/04/2018 at 12:26
Published on Care Opinion at 13:46

picture of Alison Stanton

The Service Line Manager for Ophthalmology has responded as follows:

We are very sorry that you were seen 9 month past the date you were due for follow up. Unfortunately the Ophthalmology department has an ever increasing demand on its services and this is the same for Ophthalmology services across the country, this means many departments including ours have waiting list backlogs. All our consultants are aware of the current waiting list numbers and times and we work together to reduce these waiting times where we can. We know the current waiting times are not acceptable and we are in the process of introducing new ways of providing follow up appointment pathways that will help us catch up with the patients overdue for follow up now and support the increasing demand in the future.

We can assure you that all patients are booked chronologically in terms of see by date and clinical priority as per our Trust waiting list management policy, we do not discriminate in any way.

Should you wish us to investigate your concerns in more detail, please contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service on 01752 439884 or 01752 432564. Alternatively, please email the team at: plh-tr.PALS@nhs.net

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