"Communication Breakdown"

I had two appointments at Crosshouse Hospital, Ayrshire: a routine rheumatology appointment and a pre-op clinic appointment an hour and fifteen minutes later. I arrived in good time for the rheumatology appointment, only to be told that the clinic had been cancelled! Apparently, someone had phoned my landline (which I've repeatedly asked them NOT to do, as I can only answer that when I'm sitting next to it, but have my mobile about my person at all times: due to being a wheelchair user) in the morning to inform me, but as I was in the shower at the time, I was unable to answer it. No message was left on my answering machine, and no text or call had been made to my mobile number, despite my emphasising that this is the best number to use.

As I had more than an hour to wait for the pre-op appointment (for a surgery scheduled for two days later, after a six month wait since being told that I required the surgery), I went along to the clinic to see if I could possibly be seen any earlier. After all, I'd already attended a pre-op clinic in January for this surgery, and as there was absolutely no change in either my condition or my medications, I guessed that it would take a lot less time than the previous appointment had. Fine, says the receptionist, after I had explained about the rheumatology cancellation and the previous pre-op screening, We'll just get your notes brought here, and it shouldn't take more than 10 minutes, as you're still within the six month window.

Not fine. My doctor had already sent my patient records (more like War and Peace!) to the hospital they are based at and all the details of my previous pre-op screening, were, of course, in my records. I think that my doctor should have been aware that I was due to have this surgery in two days time, as this would have been in my patient notes, and that these would be required both for the pre-op clinic and for my surgical admission.

I have to say that the staff at the pre-op clinic were superb, did their very best to chase up my patient records, and when this wasn't possible, managed to expedite the proceedings as far as possible by doing the absolutely necessary tests quickly, telling me that they would get my patient records the next day, and would phone me - on my mobile number - to let me know if there were any problems. Until this happens, I still don't know if my surgery will, in fact, go ahead, and I've already waited for six months for this.

I believe this farcical situation absolutely underlines the desperate need for all patient records to be digitised and available from a central repository, so that unthinking appropriation of the records by one department doesn't make them unavailable for another department. It's not as if this is the first time that this has happened to me, and for patients such as myself who have multiple long-term conditions, and multiple clinics to attend, it's a perpetual hazard. And it's not acceptable!

How did I feel? Absolutely livid! Frustrated that everybody's time was being unnecessarily wasted and worried in case my surgery *doesn't* happen due to this ridiculous situation, which should have, and could have been avoided.