no more

[baratron]

And just in case I didn't have enough to deal with: fucking Kingston Hospital has lost the result of my fucking latex allergy test, and wants me to make an appointment for a new one.

Earliest appointment they can offer me even after I explained that I need the result before I can have the operation is... 3rd October. Which means I won't have the result for my pre-op on 6th October. Initially they offered me an appointment in November, and I'm still shaking all over from the thought of having to live with this gall bladder for another month.

I don't even need to see a doctor - they won't do allergy tests on me by skin-prick anymore, due to possible risk of death. All I need is to go in and have someone take some blood from me and send it off to the lab. Why the fuck do I have to wait a month to have that done?

I'm crying and hyperventilating and almost throwing up here from the stress.

Comments

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

Can you ask your consultant/surgeon to chase them up instead of you? The hospital obviously doesnt understand the urgency. The doctor will have a better idea of whether they are dragging their feet or whether they genuinely cant fit you in earlier.

Goodluck.

[baratron.livejournal.com]

It wasn't so much that they didn't understand as that the person I spoke to didn't have enough seniority to expedite cutting of red tape. Offering me an appointment for 3rd October at another hospital was the best she was allowed to do. Having reached a certain stage of frazzledness with the whole situation, I didn't have the energy to demand she put me through to her manager - I thought it'd be much better to get a doctor to kick arse on my behalf.

I have now spoken to the Practice Secretary at my doctor's surgery, who has spoken to the GP who's been dealing with me, and apparently this is all a mistake anyway because they wrote to the hospital asking for the result from the last test, not for me to have to have a new test. The letter very clearly said it was a Letter of Enquiry, not a Letter of Referral. I'm inclined to believe them, because my experiences so far have shown me that the surgery is pretty well-run, while the hospital is fucking incompetent. (Details here (http://www.livejournal.com/users/baratron/325091.html#cutid1)). If this does not sort things out, I will indeed talk to the surgical team, but I think it might confuse things even more to have two different sets of people chasing up the same information at the same time.

[alexmc.livejournal.com]

Oh.

It sounds like you are doing the right thing. Goodluck.

[meirion.livejournal.com]

can't you get a nurse at your GP's to draw the blood and send it off to the lab for testing? or is that breaking some rule of bureaucracy in the brave new nhs of which i am currently unaware?

-m-

[baratron.livejournal.com]

I don't know about the bureaucracy (although Kingston Primary Healthcare Trust in general seems to be drowning under it at the best of times. My favourite bit is the fact that to get a GP appointment, you need to get up at the crack of dawn on the day you want one and spend half an hour sitting in a queue on the phone. This is the thing that Tony Blair expressed great surprise about when questioned on it by the public, and tried to weasel out of by suggesting the questioner must be mistaken. When the person running the questions (Newsnight?) got members of the audience to put up their hands if they'd had a similar experience, TB then tried to weasel out of it by suggesting lots of doctor's surgeries had misunderstood the government's recommendation).

I am vaguely aware from previous incidents that there are some blood tests that must be done at the hospital, because the blood needs to be processed immediately, or something. I assume this must be one of them.

Nonetheless, it takes a phlebotomist approximately 30 seconds to remove a small vial's worth of blood from a patient. I'm not sure why I need to wait n months for this to happen.

[mhw.livejournal.com]

That's utterly ridiculous.

I'd suggest getting in touch with your consultant asap and getting them to rocket the testers. I can't imagine they'll be at all amused by their not being able to operate safely on you because of some idiot's incompetence.

[elfgeek.livejournal.com]

Uh, crap! Can you get in touch with your local PALS and complain to them? They are the kind of ppl who have good ideas how to speed things up.

[mactavish.livejournal.com]

In this case, I think it's fair to treat your surgery as if you're anaphylactically allergic to any hint of latex.

[bob]

Of course you could enquire about having the test done privately.
While its bad that you have to it does mean it will get done quicker. Admiitedly this all depends on wheter you think the trade off between the wait and the cost are worth it.

[ludy]

that is not good.

[bethdeth.livejournal.com]

Huh. I learned of my latex allergy after getting skin eruptions from wearing rubber bands with my braces - no formal test necessary. And now if I go to a new doctor I just have to verbally inform the staff of my allergy and they act accordingly. Can't you just tell the surgical team in advance to treat you as though you're allergic? I'm sure it wouldn't be a problem to use latex-free supplies; any medical facility worth its salt in the Western world has alternatives now.