This is Care Opinion [siteRegion]. Did you want Care Opinion [usersRegionBasedOnIP]?
Care Opinion

A pointless appointment

Posted By rosejeffmo

"A pointless appointment"

About: Trafford General Hospital / Trauma and orthopaedics

(as the patient),

I was referred to orthopaedics out-patients from GMCATS for a MRI scan. I had to wait 3 weeks for the appt.

The appointment was 40 minutes late, without explanation, and lasted a minute. The doctor told me he was making a referral for a MRI scan as recommended by the orthopaedic surgeon from GMCATS and I would get an appt in the post.

A pointless waste of time for all concerned, especially me.

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Trafford General Hospital 10 years ago
Trafford General Hospital

Submitted on 06/12/2013 at 14:16
Published on nhs.uk on 05/01/2014 at 22:36

Thank you for your feedback. we are sorry to learn that your experience was not as positive as we would have liked on 14th November 2013. It is important to us that comments are seen as an opportunity to facilitate changes and improvements wherever possible. In response to your comment, please accept our sincere apologies that your appointment was 40 minutes late. Unfortunately, some out-patient appointments can, on occassions, take longer than the time allocated; but we do endeavour to keep paitnets infomred of waiting times and to facilitiate this. There is a whiteboard displaying waiting times in all clinic areas. We are sorry that after the long wait, the appointment to make your MRI scan referral was very short. It is a requirement that a Consultant refers all patients for MRI scans and we apologize if this was not fully explained to you at the time of the referral. The waiting time for reqeusted MRI scans is approximately 4-6 weeks and you will receive an appointment letter from the Radiology Department in due course. Your concerns have also been raised directly with the departments involved so that lessons can be learned and patient experience improved. The Patient Experience Team Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust 10 years ago
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 06/12/2013 at 14:20
Published on Care Opinion at 16:03

Thank you for your feedback. We are sorry to learn that your experience was not as positive as we would have liked on 14th November 2013. It is important to us that comments are seen as an opportunity to facilitate changes and improvements wherever possible. In response to your comment, please accept our sincere apologies that your appointment was 40 minutes late. Unfortunately, some out-patient appointments can, on occasions, take longer than the time allocated; but we do endeavor to keep patients informed of waiting times and to facilitate this. There is a whiteboard displaying waiting times in all clinic areas. We are sorry that after the long wait, the appointment to make your MRI scan referral was very short. It is a requirement that a Consultant refers all patients for MRI scans and we apologize if this was not fully explained to you at the time of the referral. The waiting time for requested MRI scans is approximately 4-6 weeks and you will receive an appointment letter from the Radiology Department in due course. Your concerns have also been raised directly with the departments involved so that lessons can be learned and patient experience improved.

The Patient Experience Team

Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Update posted by rosejeffmo (the patient)

Hi Patient Experience Team

Thanks for taking time to reply, it is much appreciated.

However, your reply is far too generic. Frankly it sounds like bureaucracy speak, attempting to handle the comment rather than deal with it.

My comment was specific. I'm not really concerned about what happens in other departments as I haven't been to those. I didn't see a whiteboard at the Orthopaedic Clinic and nobody directed me to it. There were no announcements about delays. I only found out about the delay when I went to ask. Before answering my comment did anyone from the patient experience team actually go to the the Orthopaedics dept and check what was happening there or talk to any of the staff?

My second complaint was also specific. I am perfectly happy that a consultant makes the referral though it would have been good if the consultant I saw at Care UK could have made a direct referral. The issue is not whether a consultant makes the referral but whether I needed to come to an appointment for him to make a referral. As they did not examine me the referral could easily have been done by that staff member alone looking at my notes without me waiting for an unnecessary appointment.

Finally I didn't make any comment whatsoever about the waiting time for a MRI scan so why did you include that information. Again it seems like a generic answer.

I'm sorry to say that your response has not only failed to properly address my concerns but made me even more irritated, something that I'm sure you did not intend or desire.

Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k