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Little time for cancer after-care

Story from nhs.uk

"Little time for cancer after-care"

About: Torbay Hospital

During the diagnosis and treatment stages of my cancer, I could not praise this hospital more highly. Everything about each stage of the way was spot on.

After I finished radiotherapy and returned asking for some support, the nurse said virtually that they warned me it would be like this and I felt like I was wasting their time. I went back to my GP and practice nurse and local pharmacy and they were fantastic.

Recently I attended a follow up oncology appointment. I didn't see the consultant I was expecting to and when I did go in for my appointment, the consultant couldn't get rid of me fast enough and even opened the door of the consulting room and said goodbye before I had got any of my clothing back on. There was no time for me to express any concerns or ask any questions. From my point of view this was a wasted 50 mile round trip and a day's lost pay just so that the consultant could tick a few statistical boxes. I hope this isn't going to be like this on every visit for the next five years.

Just because they are running late shouldn't mean that some patients get short-changed for time. If consultants and other hospital staff had to go through this bitter experience themselves then I think a totally different approach would be given to patient care at every stage of the treatment journey.

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Responses

Response from PALS Dept, Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust 8 years ago
PALS Dept
Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 11/11/2015 at 10:42
Published on Care Opinion at 12:01

Dear Patient,

We are very sorry to hear about your experience and that the standard of your care fell below that which we strive to provide. We would like the opportunity to discuss your experience with you and try our best to resolve it.

If you are happy to talk to us about this, please contact our Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) so they can look into your situation in more detail.

A PALS Officer is available in person, Monday to Friday, between 10.00am and 2.00pm. You can contact them by calling 01803 655838 or on our 24 hour freephone number 0800 02 82 037. If you get through to the voicemail service please leave your contact details and you will receive a call back within two working days. PALS can also be contacted by Text Phone on 01803 654742, by FAX on 01803 617162, or via email to sdhc@nhs.net (your email will go direct to our PALS Service).

We look forward to hearing from you so that we can address the issues you have raised.

Kind regards Torbay & Southern Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Torbay Hospital 8 years ago
Torbay Hospital

Submitted on 13/11/2015 at 11:55
Published on nhs.uk on 14/11/2015 at 01:36

Dear Patient,

We are very sorry to hear about your experience and that the standard of your care fell below that which we strive to provide. We would like the opportunity to discuss your experience with you and try our best to resolve it.

If you are happy to talk to us about this, please contact our Patient Advice & Liaison Service (PALS) so they can look into your situation in more detail.

A PALS Officer is available in person, Monday to Friday, between 10.00am and 2.00pm. You can contact them by calling 01803 655838 or on our 24 hour freephone number 0800 02 82 037. If you get through to the voicemail service please leave your contact details and you will receive a call back within two working days.

PALS can also be contacted by Text Phone on 01803 654742, by FAX on 01803 617162, or via email to sdhc@nhs.net (your email will go direct to our PALS Service).

We look forward to hearing from you so that we can address the issues you have raised.

Kind regards

Patient Services

Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
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