Trying to get appointmentn though the admin office.
Hello Dr Bland,
I've had an operation on my right hand just before Christmas and recently received a review letter/questionnaire from yourself for my GP to assess the outcome of the operation. Despite calling in and asking the admin office to send the letter to my new GP, he did not receive one. So when I attended the appointment he knew nothing about it but did the assessment anyway and I returned the letter/questionnaire via the NHS internal postal system.
The returned review letter/questionnaire also requested from my GP another referral for my left hand, now causing considerable discomfort and asking for an appointment.
Having not receiving an appointment I called the admin office on Friday only to be told that there was no record of my operation on my right hand, no record of the review letter/questionnaire and never having received the returned letter/questionnaire and thus my GPs referral. I was asked to return a copy but neither my GP nor myself retained a copy. According to the admin office the last record on my hospital notes was in September last year when I saw you and was booked in for the operation on my right hand.
When I called the office on Friday the receptionist offered a call from you on Tuesday but despite my requesting a call after 3.00pm as I work until this time and making a point of coming straight home and waiting in I have not received any phone calls either before or after 3.00pm
Can you offer me an appointment for my left hand or do I need to obtain another referral from my GP and let me know if you ever received the review form/questionnaire.
Many Thanks
Jacqui Milton
Hi Dr Bland
Thanks for a speedy reply I have now received my appointment letter which is on the 26th June at 9am, but is there anything I can do in the meantime as the pain and numbness at night is so bad it's keeping me awake most of the time.
I tried to get a splint from my local pharmacy but they only had one for the right hand and did not know when they are getting any more. Are they any good - do they work/help if so can you supply one (size medium - for left hand)?
Splints help most, but not all, patients to some extent but only 'cure' the condition in perhaps a third of early cases. You can pick splints up from here during the Thursday morning clinic if you can get here - we have plenty. JB
That's great thanks very much. Would it be alright if my daughter picked one up on Thursday as she works at the hospital.
They need to be the right size (we have 4 different ones in left and right) and have to be bent to fit your wrist properly so it's better if you can drop in yourself. JB
Ok that's fine, would it be alright if I got there for 8.45 as I have to go to work afterwards.
I'm not sure who you spoke to in the office last week but it may have been a temp who is not fully aware of all our working systems yet. I do have your follow up form, completed by yourself and Dr Kinnersley but I have been away teaching in the USA and there was a pile of these forms waiting for me when I got back which I did not get around to processing until the Bank Holiday Monday just gone. I guess whoever you spoke to was probably not aware of the inch thick pile of forms in my office - sorry!
They should not have promised you a call from me on a Tuesday - in fact I end up doing most of my telephone follow up calls on Sundays and a few in the evenings because that is the only time I am free to sit at a telephone and have a reasonable chance of finding people at home - again one cannot blame new temporary staff for not knowing all of my working methods yet.
This forum remains by far the most efficient way of contacting me for those patients who can use the internet. Dr K requested repeat testing on the follow up form and I have made an appointment which should be in the post to you at present. I'm afraid it is not for about 4 weeks - again being away for nearly two weeks plays havoc with my waiting list but I am doing my best to catch up a bit. It sounds as though we are likely to end up operating on the second hand but your last set of nerve tests are now quite out of date (Sept 12) so I would like to see what we are dealing with before launching into surgery. JB