I had been concerned about my health and went for a cervical screening appointment. The first time I went, I had made an appointment over the phone with the doctor and the nurse, but neither appointment was in the diary when I arrived, so I was already stressed and worried for the second appointment. The nurse looked very worried when she examined me and called the duty doctor. He explained that I would be given a two-week referral. I was very stressed by this but waited for over a week to hear about my appointment. When I hadn't heard anything I rang the surgery over several days to investigate - first of all they gave me a hospital telephone number on which the people at the end of the phone had never heard of me, then they said that the hospital dealt with thousands of referrals and I should just expect to hear at some point. Eventually I discovered the right numbers through checking on the referrals section of the St Guys & Thomas's hospital, and after speaking to them found that I had been put on a routine referral list because the nurse had filled in the wrong form. I then rang my surgery, got a doctor to ring me back and explained the problem. I received a call from the nurse later in the day, and she confirmed that she was sending the right form, the appropriate one for a suspected cancer scare. I then called the two-week wait office at St Guys, and they told me that they had scheduled the appointment for a further two weeks away. I managed to persuade the helpful man on the phone to bring it forward slightly, and am scheduled to see them a little sooner, but still three full days after the two-week referral. I am beside myself with worry, expecting the worst, and this experience has not helped.
"Two-week referral"
About: Guy's Hospital / Gynaecology Guy's Hospital Gynaecology SE1 9RT NHS England London NHS England London
Posted by Rhodiola (as ),
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