"Communication and waiting"

I was placed on the waiting list for a total right hip replacement by NHS Ayrshire & Arran in late December 2022, and was advised of the government waiting time guarantees.  I was further advised that there was likely to be some delay because of the backlog due to covid and that a letter would follow.  The letter didn't arrive and my wife and I were trying to book a holiday so I called the hospital in the summer of 2023 to enquire what the likely waiting time would be. At this point, I was advised that they were working on an 18 month waiting time which would put my potential operation date to Summer 2024. After this advice and careful consideration, we went ahead and booked a holiday for early 2024.  

I was then invited to the active clinical surveillance unit at Crosshouse Hospital and attended in November.  This was a very good experience and I felt positively engaged in what was happening for me.  The person who spent time with me told me that there might be a possibility of funding being released to enable me to have my operation at the Golden Jubilee Hospital possibly around December/January time.  On that very afternoon, I received a call from Ayr Hospital to confirm that funding had been released and to ask if I was willing to be put on the list for surgery at Golden Jubilee.  I was delighted and said that I would be very happy for this to happen.

Very quickly afterwards I received an appointment for early December 2023 to attend Golden Jubilee for my pre op and to meet the consultant.  This went ahead and I was so impressed by the efficiency and professionalism of staff, as well as how well the various appointments were co-ordinated.  I can't speak highly enough of this team.  I then returned in December for my CT scan prior to surgery and again was impressed by the efficiency of this process. 

Less than a week later, my toileting equipment was delivered and fitted by South Ayrshire Council - again with fantastic efficiency.  In light of this flurry of activity and perceived sense of urgency, and with me having indicated a willingness to accept a cancellation, my wife and I made the difficult decision to cancel our planned holiday abroad in January 2024. However due to the level of uncertainty we have not been able to rebook and have already lost a considerable amount of money.   

We have prioritised my being fully available for this surgery due to the impact the pain is having on my wellbeing, however it would be very helpful to have some kind of indication to a time line to be able to plan.  For example, I contacted the bookings department when I was returning to work after the festive period as I was trying to plan work related trips and meetings but they told me they weren't able to give me any indication.  I further contacted the bookings department last week as I had 2 missed calls from the same Glasgow number on the same day and when I tried to return the calls, the number wasn't accepting incoming calls.  I hoped that this was the bookings department calling to confirm a date, but when I spoke with them they confirmed that it hadn't been them who had called.  I took the opportunity to ask if they were able to let me know any timescale as I was now 7 weeks into what I had been told was a 12 week validity period for my pre op.  At this point I was told not to worry about the 12 week validity period as it has now been changed to 6 months.  I wonder how this would have been communicated to me had I not called?  My wife works in another health board, and their validity period has been extended only to 18 weeks - is it the case that Golden Jubilee works to a different standard?

This is not intended as a complaint, but a plea for a conversation with someone about the impact that sitting on a waiting list is having on me.  I had resigned myself to my operation taking place no earlier than summer 2024, then I had my hopes raised by the speed of activity at Golden Jubilee, and now I feel absolutely deflated after what felt like an off the cuff comment from the bookings department about pre op validity.  I tried to find someone who I could discuss this with on the Golden Jubilee website, but could only find the complaints link.  I'm not asking to be moved up the waiting list, merely for someone to listen to how this is impacting on me and my family.