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Care Opinion

Treatment Time Guarantee Date

Posted By Sconemaker

"Treatment Time Guarantee Date"

About: Ninewells Hospital / Ophthalmology Ninewells Hospital / Trauma & orthopaedics

(as a relative),

I myself had a wonderful experience at Ninewells Hospital.  It was the first time I had ever had to go and the staff and consultants in the Eye Clinic were fabulous!!

Recently my husband had to go to an outpatient appointment in the Trauma and Orthopaedic Department.  Whilst we had to wait a considerable amount of time to get this appointment, my husband was seen on time and everything was really great.  We then received a letter saying Treatment Time Guarantee Date would be August, 12 weeks from his initial appointment.  He was obviously over the moon as he is considerable pain and has little movement.  He is only 55 and needs both hips to be replaced.

However, when I phoned to enquire I was informed that he wouldn't be having an operation for at least 30 weeks, maybe 40!!  I should say at this point, this is not a complaint about Ninewells hospital or staff.  However, I think you should re-word your letter so that it is quite clear what the actual waiting times are, this is very misleading and gave us some premature hope of an end to his pain in a relatively short time.

Thank you.

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Response from Alison Moss, Feedback Manager, NHS Tayside 4 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
Alison Moss
Feedback Manager,
NHS Tayside

Submitted on 19/06/2019 at 09:22
Published on Care Opinion at 10:43

Dear “Sconemaker”

Thank you so much for taking the time to share your experiences of care. I will ensure that your kind comments regarding your own experience of attending the Eye Clinic and your husband’s attendance at the Orthopaedic Outpatient Clinic are passed on to the staff.

You also highlight your disappointment at the waiting time for your husband’s operation and the confusion caused by receiving a letter saying his Treatment Time Guarantee Date would be August. I am sorry that the wording in the letter is misleading and gave you premature hope.

I can advise that work is ongoing to improve our communication with patients and to keep them updated with our current waiting times. As part of this work, we are publishing our waiting times on our website so members of the public can see what the current waiting time is within the service to which they have been referred. We will be updating the letters we send to patients on our waiting lists to make it clearer how this information can be accessed. We are also currently working to identify if there is a way to add the waiting time to the Treatment Time Guarantee letter and will be engaging with patients to gather their feedback regarding these changes.

I have shared your feedback with the group leading on this work and, should you wish to be involved further, your input would be welcomed. If you would like to contact the Complaints and Feedback Team, either by telephone on 0800 027 5507 (freephone) or via email to feedback.tayside@nhs.net, we will be able to make the necessary arrangements.

Kind regards.

Alison

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