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9 months wait for pain clinic appointment

Posted By Major767

"9 months wait for pain clinic appointment"

About: Biggart Hospital / General Medicine

(as the patient),

Following a referral from my GP I waited 9 months for an appointment at the Biggart hospital pain management clinic.

The letter I received made me think that it was a routine letter sent more to achieve a target than anything else.

Nine months is a very long time to wait when you are in constant pain, why does it take so long?

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Responses

Response from Eunice Goodwin, Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team, NHS Ayrshire and Arran 7 years ago
Eunice Goodwin
Patient Feedback Manager for NHS Ayrshire and Arran, Quality Improvement and Governance Team,
NHS Ayrshire and Arran

I respond initially to most of the posts and ensure they are passed to the appropriate team whether they are compliments, observations or grumbles. It is important to make sure all issues are addressed and I try to encourage that to happen for all the posts as required.

Submitted on 22/02/2017 at 10:10
Published on Care Opinion at 12:14

picture of Eunice Goodwin

Dear Major767,

I am really sorry you have had such a long time to wait, especially when you are in pain. There are several different aspects of the service you could have been referred to and each of them are under immense pressure due to the increasing work load. I am sorry, this is not helpful but it is unfortunately a current reality. There is work on-going to look at ways to address this, including different ways of working. I say this by way of explanation and not as an excuse.

I wonder if you are available for a short-notice appointment, if so, it is always worth letting them know this and making sure your contact details are accurate and current.

Without more details I am unsure which clinic you have been referred to and in what way. (I know it will seem strange, but it does matter). If you would like me to look into this for you, please email details including - which clinic you are awaiting an appointment for, your name, address and date of birth. My email address is Eunice.goodwin@aapct.scot.nhs.uk.

I sincerely hope you get an appointment very soon and get back to health, pain is such a draining and debilitating issue, affecting lives in ways some folk can't conceive.

Kindest wishes,

Eunice

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