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Wife not tested for deep venous thrombosis!

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"Wife not tested for deep venous thrombosis!"

About: The Whittington Hospital

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Wife went to Whittington with suspected deep venous thrombosis. Followed a long haul flight, swelling in leg, classic symptoms. Rang NHS Direct told to go in. NHS Direct sent us to a hospital behind St Pancras where doc told us to go to Whittington A&E where, he claimed, there was a special triage for DVT. Harassed nurse in triage told us to wait. Worst thing for DVT? Sitting on hard chair overnight. Gave up at 3.30 in AM after 2 hrs after calculating wait would be at least another 3.5 hours. Came back next day. After standard 4 hour wait, wife saw doc. Told she had 2 points which meant DVT suspected. Given an (expensive) CT scan for suspected pulmonary embolism. When this was clear, sent home! At no stage did she get the (cheap) scan and blood test to check for DVT. Then dispatched home with no diagnosis. Has she got a DVT? I don't know and nor does she. Whittington doesn't triage for DVT. Doesn't treat it right. Fails to administer basic tests.

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Responses

Response from The Whittington Hospital 10 years ago
The Whittington Hospital

Submitted on 05/11/2013 at 08:24
Published on nhs.uk on 06/11/2013 at 03:00

We are very sorry to hear of your recent experience at our emergency department. We have attempted to look into this however, it is difficult to address your specific concerns about the treatment and tests your wife received without further details. We would be very happy to investigate this further in order to respond more comprehensively . If you would like to take this forward please do contact us on: (Antoinette please can you add details of PALS and complaints as I don’t have them to hand). With regards to your concern about DVT triage, we do have DVT ambulatory care pathway which currently runs between the hours of 9-5 and will be extending this to evenings and weekends shortly. This is not currently available overnight however, which is when I understand you attended. Please also note that when a pulmonary embolism is suspected it is best practice to provide the appropriate tests to eliminate this. Again, please accept our apologies for both the long wait you experienced and your concerns about the treatment provided.

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