"My partner has glaucoma and has ..."

What I liked

My partner has glaucoma and has been under the care of St Jame's eye clinnic for many years. In the early years the care was always high but in recent years there has been serious problems getting routine follow-up appointments. At one

appointment the doctor seeing my partner commented that because of the delay in getting out-patient appointments the risk of losing one's sight was high with late decisions on treatment. This was a general comment not confined to my partner. Even now doctors and administrative staff say there are backlogs in appointments. This aspect of the service has deteriorated and the hospital needs to ensure there are more staff to manage the existing workload. Dealys and making complaints to deal with them can be very stressful for the patient, their next of kin and the staff. Please do something to alleviate the backlog.

What could be improved

Senior clinical staff have said they need more staff to clear the appointment backlog. This could be achieved in part by hiring extra doctor sessions for the short term. Long term the workload might be better managed by allocating work to other hospitals. The aim is to ensure patients get their next appointment on time based on doctor's advice eg one month, four months, six months etc. Getting plenty of notice for the appointment would really be appreciated.