today is 31/07/2014 and I will have an endoscopy on 8 August 2014 in this hospital, in other words I have simply a week to go now. My allergy specialist that my GP had referred, had suggested that I should request from the consultant who will perform the endoscopy, a simply biopsy to check if I have a coeliac disease. She had said that this simple biopsy could be done while the endoscopy was performed to find out if my problems would be the result of a coeliac disease. As a result, I talked to the consultant's secretary last week who said that she would asked the consultant if he could do such biopsy and would let me know. However when I did not hear from her I called her 5 times and left messages. Finally I was told that she was on holiday. I talked to hospital's NHS Co-ordinator instead, because her job is to deal with matters in the secretary's absence. I explained to her that I wanted to find out in advance if this biopsy could be done during the endoscopy because otherwise I needed to go back to my GP to find some other alternatives. Yet the NHS coordinator argued with me good 20 minutes over the phone saying that " I cannot ask the consultant or the secretary, because I do not want to interfere. You should wait until the secretary returned from her holiday, I am sure she has already asked the consultant but if she did not, you should talk to the consultant yourself on the day of your endoscopy". I was appalled! I asked her what exactly was preventing her to pick up the phone and call the consultant to find out if he could do such biopsy. But she kept on repeating herself. Finally I said that I would write a letter to her boss. She immediately accepted that she could phone the secretary or the consultant. It is clear that for her to do her job I had no option but to threaten her. How said that a simple matter could not be resolved but is turned in to an argument due to staff's unwillingness, lack of empathy and professionalism! I am still waiting if the biopsy could be done.
"Coordinator's unwillingness to "co-ordinate" a..."
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