" 6 weeks just to even see the Cardiology specialist"

Dear ‘jimllwaxit’,

Thank for you for taking the time to tell us about your experience of using the DART service, I can only apologise that in this instance your experience was not a positive one.

Once your GP has decided to refer you for a consultant opinion, your GP sends you the information inviting you to contact the DART Team. This information should be sent to you within a few days of your seeing your GP, it sounds as though it took a little longer to reach you than usual. If you are happy to, please inform us which practice you are registered with and we can liaise with the Practice to request this information is sent promptly to patients in the future.

The DART team is here to offer patients a choice of time and place for their treatment, wherever possible, and to provide information that patients may require before they make their choice. The service has been designed, and is overseen by, local GPs who feel that this service is the best way for patients to make their appointments. At DART we are able to offer appointments to patients based on the referral letter information given by the GP, the facilitators who book appointments are not medically trained but are supported by our Support Team of GPs who can advise when a referral requires redirecting.

In some hospital departments, such as Cardiology, it is more appropriate for your referral to be reviewed by a consultant prior to offering you an appointment. This is so the hospital can arrange for any additional diagnostic tests to be requested before you see a consultant, and at the stage of your first outpatient appointment the consultant will have any results ready to discuss with you. We understand that this is not an ideal way to offer appointments but in the past patients have booked appointments only to have them re-arranged to accommodate any tests that are needed. To avoid causing patients the inconvenience of having to make additional arrangements or change appointments unnecessarily some hospitals find it better to contact patients directly.

I’d like to reassure you that, even though you feel this process it too long I can assure you your care will not have been delayed in any way. The date on which patients start waiting for their appointment is recorded and appointments are all seen ‘in turn’.

I hope that this response has gone some way to answering your questions but if not, please feel free to contact us again. Alternatively you can contact me directly on 01626 883712 on Monday to Friday from 9am until 5pm.

Best Wishes