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I am under a consultant at a large hospital for a fairly routine medical issue. It isn't life threatening but it is something that requires bloods and investigations to be carried out promptly and in a certain order. Initially my care seemed to be moving along nicely but suddenly, two months ago, everything ground to a halt.
The clinic visit I was expecting didn't arrive, I wasn't notified about results as requested, and my next blood cards didn't come in the mail. Naturally concerned, I contacted the consultant's secretary, only to be told my blood results had been lost and they didn't seem to have my notes 'at hand'.
I politely asked them to look into it and made sure they had my contact details. A week went by, so I called again. The secretary assured me they'd found everything and would be in touch with an appointment.
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Another week passed. I called again, only to be told an appointment had not been requested, bloods 'had been found but not seen', and my notes were still MIA. I should mention at this time that I work in administration at this hospital and can confirm my notes were missing; I checked!
The receptionist flat out lied
I tried calling my GP to see if there was anything they could do, like contacting the consultant's office (requests from GP seem to be higher priority than from the patient). The receptionist flat out lied, saying that can't be done. As I work in hospital administration myself, I know that it is frequently done.
During appointments the consultant seemed very willing to help with a good bedside manner. I felt confident in the proposed medical path, excited to finally be on the road to treatment. It's the clerical staff that seem to be dropping the ball and being a member of the same team, I know exactly how hard the job can be. I understand the red tape that is often involved with the job. However, this is a well-paid job and they have very serious responsibilities on their hands that can greatly alter a person's care. The first mistake I can understand, human error perhaps and the second one may be just bad luck. But now I feel like its stupidity, mismanagement, and a chronic lack of organization that is keeping me from treatment. The added stress probably isn't helping my condition either!
By: Stephanie
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The problem lies in the underfunding of training systems, the poor selection and misguided promotion of middle-management, and the outsourcing of vital office processes to HR departments with no 'moral investment' in the world of healthcare
... Does anyone truly believe NHS staff in non-medical, yet just as vital, roles are seemingly so poorly paid, they won't do the job they presumably applied for, of their own free will? Don't make excuses for these people. They are inept and unhappy, and so should look elsewhere for higher paid work. Administration, unlike nursing, is not a specialised vocation - people are not compelled to choose this career to satisfy profound emotional/psychological reasons!
As my mum always said to my auntie at Christmas "if you don't like it, you can change it"...
These days, you go to hospital to die or, become seriously ill. Stand need to mention the Nazis and their methods. This is far worse, you have to pay for this half a could've been a service.
It's a sad state of affairs with no scope for improvement.
Don't Lose Our Records!