So what part of 3 months don’t I understand?

Today, it being November and the best part of 5 months since I had my follow up appointment, I called the hospital. I did this because I was told I should have my next appointment after 3 months as part of the ‘close eye’ that they would be keeping on me …and in my world that would have been September!

I figured that I have now been patient enough and it should be time for me to phone up and rattle a few cages. I got through very quickly and spoke to a very bored sounding lady who told me that she would add me to her list and I would get an appointment as soon as one became available.


“Add me to your list!”, I squawked, “shouldn’t I already be on it?”.

“Well, yes maybe, but I am now adding people to my list as soon as they phone”.
“But I rang 2 months ago”
“Well, yes, maybe, but I was on holiday then so even if you spoke to someone else, they wouldn’t have put you on my list”.

“So, does this mean that patients are demanding their own appointments, it doesn’t matter when the surgeon wants to see you, it just goes on when we phone up?”
Some vague muttering ensues from the other end of the phone….
I push on regardless: “So, is there any merit to me phoning you every day so I get pushed further up your list?”
She assures me that however many times I call her I only get put on the list once!
“Anyway”, she says, “you have been seen since last February, haven’t you?”
“Yep - I’ve had surgery too and this is supposed to be a follow up….a 6 month one….Oh yes, and just as a matter of interest, about how long am I likely to have to wait?”
“Well, a minimum of 6 weeks so it could be January or February.”
My squawking at this point is unrepeatable but easily imaginable. I am again reminded about what a brilliant health service we have in this country.

So, I got nowhere with my appointment but looking on the positive of it all, I have learnt 3 valuable lessons about the NHS today

1. Patients get to set their own appointments depending on how fast they can get to the phone and how impatient they are - it has nothing to do with the medical staff, especially not the surgeons.
   
2. Time moves very differently within hospital walls
3. Keeping a close eye on you means that you should be seen more often than once every 5 years.

Thank goodness I’m not experiencing any problems or I'd not just be feeling like this.....