"Lack of communication in Cardiology"

My father, aged 78, fell ill in October 2016. The GP suspected he was having a heart attack and rushed him to A & E, where he waited 5 hrs, had a few tests and disgnosed with postional hypertension. He was sent home. At 10. 30pm that night, he was wakened by a phone call from Ayr Hospital, asking him to return, as they'd now seen the blood results and he had indeed had a heart attack.

So we had to return to the hospital, and begin the process again at 11pm with triage... He was taken to a ward a couple of hours later, eventually staying in hospital for five days. Nothing much happened in those five days, although they did a heart stress test by putting him on a treadmill and change all his pills. Four weeks later he attended the day unit for a angiogram. After an anxious day there, he was told there was nothing to worry about, a few more xrays would be done but no further treatment was required. Hurrah!

Four weeks later he suffered a major heart attack and is only alive today because the paramedics rushed him to Hairmyres and the consultant on duty put two stents in. He was amazed he'd been told only weeks earlier we'd been told there was nothing wrong. He said that more treatment would be needed, either more stents or a bypass.

Dad was transferred to Ayr the next day, staying three days in Ayr Hospital this time. During this time, his pills were changed again and a blood clot in his heart. While being discharged, we were told that his bloods weren't quite stable and he was at high risk of a further attack, but there was to be a case conference, where Hairmyres, the Jubilee and Ayr would discuss his case. I asked how we would know the outcome and was assured Dad would be contacted.

And the point of me writing this is that, a month later, we're still waiting to hear the outcome. No idea whether the case conference happened or not. No word from anyone. I have no contact, no name, no face to ask.

Individually, the nurses who cared for Dad were very nice. The care at Hairmyres was absolutely fantastic. But as a system, something seems broken. Dad's sitting at home, scared to do anything, worried about what's next. He seems to have been forgotten about.