A Sad Reflection on The NHS in Wales!
.

 Please Be Sure To

My Blogs
To Spread The Facts World Wide
To Give Hope & Information

 .
Hi Greg,

Make of this what you will, it is approximately what I wrote to the Chief Executive.  Please do not alter it unless you have to.

Many thanks, 
(REDACTED by G.L-W.)

To Whom It May Concern:

I am an old age pensioner in my early 70s, a long term cancer patient having had life threatening recurrences and surgery over 20 years, a patient of the University Hospital of Wales.

In April 20011 I underwent further surgery for the removal of a malignant tumour attached to the bowel. 
In June 2011 I began to notice a significant swelling in the area of the operation scar, and was told that some internal stitches from this operation had failed resulting in a hernia. 
I was scheduled for corrective  surgery and was given a date for admission on 13th February 2012. 
In the letter I received I was told to phone the ward and they would tell me what time they wanted me to come in, with no warning that they might fail to honour the appointment!


On February 13th. 2012, the day of admission, I phoned as instructed but was told the ward did not know if there was a bed available and they would phone me back. 
They phoned back at approximately 4.15pm to say there was no bed for me and a new appointment would be made in due course.
The new appointment was made for 5th March.
The 2nd. March arrived only to see that again the appointment was cancelled, this time three days before, by the consultant who had an emergency.  
The third appointment was made for the 23rd April which was six weeks ahead and in spite of all this time to organise things this appointment too was cancelled late on the day of admission – no bed available.

It is increasingly difficult to have confidence in the ability of a surgical team whose management have a clearly total inability to manage something as simple as a diary! Entering into contract after contract to carry out procedures yet reneging at the last minute time and again!

At this point the Complaints Concern Team were contacted and within hours I received a phone call making a forth appointment for the 30th April.
The appointed 30th. April eventually arrived, be minded this is a year after the failure of the Health Service to perform a successful operation leading to a hernia, a risk one appreciates but surely no one should be expected to tollerate let alone appreciate increasing dissability and pain due to the incompetence of the administrative management to manage a diary!
Unbelievably at 5.35pm on the 30th. due to incompetence to schedule a diary the unavailability of a bed was the excuse again, the operation was again postponed.


As you can well appreciate , these delays have not been beneficial to my health, neither mental nor physical, as the hernia, which has now grown to a good six inches in diameter, is affecting my mobility and my ability to sleep and besides the discomfort there is the ever present anxiety with constant discomfort as an omnipresent reminder!.

There is also the additional problem of personal arrangements to be made prior to going into hospital, not easy on a limited budget whilst stressed by the anxiety of physical dissability.
My daughter-in-law has to take time off work to take me to hosp[ital and appointments, how does she explain to her seniors again and again the same excuse for time off? 
I also have booked my two small companion dogs into a kennel and because of the late time of three of the cancellations I have had to pay each time for one day kennel accommodation.
Currently my car is due for a MOT test which I cancelled, as I was sure the last hospital appointment would not  be cancelled, surely not again, so I have been without a car for the last few days.

I have contacted my local MP, David T.C. Davies (Tory, Monmouthshire), who has been most supportive and has written to the hospital on my behalf, I have myself written to the Chief Executive, but have not even received the simple courtesy of an acknowledgement, so far I have heard nothing from the hospita.

As a last resort I have contacted the South Wales Argus, who have made an appointment to come to see me on Wednesday 9th May, I assume they will have the competence to manage a diary and will honour their contracted appointment, we will see what results we get from that.

Yours sincerely,

(REDACTED by G.L-W.)
 .
 Please Be Sure To
My Blogs
To Spread The Facts World Wide To Give Others HOPE
I Have Been Fighting Cancer since 1997 & I’M STILL HERE!
I Have Cancer, Cancer Does NOT Have Me

I just want to say sorry for copping out at times and leaving Lee and friends to cope!
Any help and support YOU can give her will be hugely welcome.
I do make a lousy patient!

.
If YOU want to follow my fight against Cancer from when it started and I first presented with symptoms see The TAB just below the Header of this Blog. called >DIARY of Cancer< just click and it will give you a long list of the main events in chronological order.
.
Thoughts and comments will be in chronological order in the main blog and can be tracked in the >ARCHIVE< in the Right Sidebar.
You may find the TABS >MEDICAL LINKS< and also >CANCER LINKS< of help.
.
YOU are welcome to call me if you believe I can help in ANY way. .

Posted by: Greg Lance-Watkins

tel: 01594 – 528 337
on: http://GregLanceWatkins.Blogspot.com
TWITTER: Greg_LW
Health/Cancer Blog: http://GregLW.blogspot.com 

Related articles

Enhanced by Zemanta