Light blue touch-paper, retire to a safe distance.

Posted by @ 4:48 pm on Thursday 7th January, 2021.

Time and again I've told both the GP and the haematology consultants that neither can access, or be bothered to access, the records of the other when it comes to my meds, my clinical notes, my test results or my appointments. Time and again they have refuted my assertion. Time and again I've provided proof (and there's a lot of it), but they still insist that there's no comms issue.

You may well ask: "where's he going with this?"

Well, here's the latest. I'll try to break it into bite-size chunks so that it's easy to process (yes, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust Booking Office, I'm aiming this mainly at you)...

Last year, Leicester Glenfield set me up with a cardiology follow-up clinic, I was to go in to see The Professor on Wednesday 13th January 2021 @ 11:15. A few weeks back I got a letter telling me to stay at home, they would do a phone clinic instead, time and date unchanged.

Well, that's all fine and dandy for them, but seeing as I have to attend Leicester Royal for a haematology clinic at 11:30 the same day, I won't be staying at home, I'll probably still be driving to Leicester at 11:15. I've informed both Glenfield and the Royal, but so far nothing has changed.

Clearly they can't work together as a team even though they are both parts of the same NHS Trust, and allegedly share the same appointments database, but I've become used to banging my head against hard surfaces while trying to get them to wake up and smell the coffee.

But this afternoon I lost it big-time...

The postie delivered yet another NHS-branded envelope. I was hoping that it would be an invitation to get the COVID-jab, or maybe even a rearranged appointment for the cardio clinic, but no, it's an appointment for "MRI Internal auditory meatus Both".

And yes, you've guessed it, the appointment is set for Wednesday 13th. This one is at 08:00 and it's at Hinckley & Bosworth Community Hospital.

One morning, three appointments, three hospitals, one NHS Trust with no coordination. The front-line staff are heroic, but the booking admins are appalling.

Oh, and one more thing. My records state that I don't react well to the contrast agent that they'll probably want to put into me for the MRI scan, I usually end up having rigors, oxygen and a hospital bed for the night. That'll banjax the rest of the day good and proper.

On the 13th, if anyone tries to pull me over to tell me that I'm breaking the stay-at-home laws, there might be fireworks.

 

4 Responses to “Light blue touch-paper, retire to a safe distance.”

  1. Glen Rayner says:

    Don't leave us hanging. What happened on the 13th? We need the sequel.

  2. BG! says:

    @Glen Rayner

    Regarding the MRI scan, I asked for it to be rearranged on the basis that any reaction to the contrast agent would scupper the two later appointments. Turns out that the NHS Booking Office interpret "rearrange" as "send to the back of the queue".

    In order to be at the LRI in good time to find somewhere warm indoors to take the Glenfield cardio clinic phone call, we started out 30 minutes earlier than usual, and arrived in the car-park 30 minutes earlier than usual. The plan was going well until the cardio Prof decided to make the call 30 minutes earlier than scheduled, so that "clinic" was done in a cold corner of the third level of the multi-storey car-park.

    Just for good measure, immediately after the LRI clinic, things went tits-up at the LRI on-site TrustMed pharmacy. Details on request.

  3. Glen Rayner says:

    They appear to have it in for you, any chance you might have upset somebody in authority ? 😕

    I had a choice of York or Malton hospitals for my annual Glaucoma clinic. We chose Malton, apart from being told off for trying to get in the wrong entrance there appeared to be only 3 patients in the whole place.

    For Celia's last eye injection I wasn't allowed in so had to spend 2 hours in the car or walking around the outskirts of York , clutching a copy of Celia's appointment to prove I wasn't breaking Covid restrictions, North Yorks police have been very strict with East Yorkshire people crossing the border.

  4. BG! says:

    Originally Posted By Glen Rayner
    They appear to have it in for you, any chance you might have upset somebody in authority ? 😕

    Yes, of course. Why change the habit of a lifetime?

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