Taken out the loop? what now??.. (N.H.S-UK)..

[Colin P]

On the reverse of the card your opth gives you to hand in at reception and cancel your appointments reads.

" IMPORTANT. The consultant in clinic has decided not to give you a further appointment.
HOWEVER, if you have any problems in the next 12 months please contact the unit on xxxx xxxx?
and quote REVIEW CONDITION and a further appointment will be given.

They dont tell you this, and some posters in the past on D.E.Z have in a panic asked
"where do i go from here now ive been taken out the loop"..

Hope this helps at least 1 person..

[irish eyes]

Colin

Have you been taken out of the `NHS loop'?

[Colin P]

I have indeed.

[irish eyes]

I have indeed.

I'm sorry to hear that.

Whilst visits to the hospital can be a real pain, at least it can give you a feeling that someone is keeping a check on things.

I've had this experience too; the consultant wrote to my GP and it was difficult to believe he was actually talking about me. He was so dismissive - and this was a man who was described as being `passionate' about helping people with dry eye and related issues.

My eyes worsened because of the neglect but I took his word that there wasn't any more they could do and that my case was nothing special and to get some anti-depressants if I felt that bad.

I cannot praise the NHS highly enough for its care in many respects but this disappointed me. When things got really desperate, my GP referred me to see someone privately. The consultant had to be diplomatic about one of his professional colleagues but he gave a different diagnosis altogether. He couldn't promise miracles but agreed that my eyes were in a poor state and needed `supervision'.

I'm also fortunate in having a good optician - they are very thorough in examining my eyes and getting my updates from the hospital.

I hope things go well for you; maybe my case wasn't typical.

[littlemermaid]

Good advice, Colin P.

Didn't realise for years that 'discharged' means you can turn up again if treatment's not working (ignore battleaxe on desk 'don't we need to ask a medic?' - unless she's nice in which case lay it on thick and she can ninja you into clinic). I still say 'LM is Mr x's patient', then they go 'but she's been discharged', then I look confused and hurt and say 'shouldn't we ask him what he wants to do, it seems a bit worse this time' and 'so, where should we go for this?'

Anyone can turn up at A&E, or better, Emergency Eye Clinic, anytime - pain, inflammation, red eye. This has been more effective through optician referral, especially if they're hopping mad about state of patient.

Quite like NHS Direct http://www.nhsdirect.nhs.uk/ or telephone 0845 4647 for a chat on what's available locally and regional. I expect them not to know but sometimes they're really good.

Love that docs are not aware of dryeyetalk's networking skills http://www.dryeyezone.com/talk/showt...octor-who-will

As Irish says, sometimes we shop around and upgrade with style to a specialist, sometimes make the best of what we've got to work with locally without upsetting them too much. I like an 'NHS for long-term follow-up + private for backup + nice optician for regular checks' combo.

Good advice of Irish to find pleasant optician who's into dry eye, careful they're not just flogging the BAK drops. They can refer anywhere they dare. Their regulations oblige them to do so if they see any untreated problems, even IOP slightly over 20mm/Hg.

Any worsening, you've got options, esp now your GP is batting for you. Thanks again for important post.

[Colin P]

And thankyou, L.M's mum for the additional info..

[y-gwair]

By the time I saw oral health about my odd mouth problems last year, they had started to get better (probably as the weather was warmer); they told me they didn't feel they could do much for me, but if I got in touch within 6 months they would see me again, which was fair enough. Would probably have been a waste of time, I'm gradually realising that the common factor to my problems is poor circulation, probably due to peripheral neuropathy secondary to the UCTD, I doubt they'd have picked that up as it's quite rare to have these problem in the face/oral regions.

It was different with rheumatology, after my GP had referred me a couple of times, each time they had no suggestions (having done no tests), and my GP said she couldn't refer me again as it was a waste of time. We did some research, found 'the' expert, booked private consultation after which she enrolled me on her NHS list. If you've reached the end of the road with a particular consultant or department, it's time to move on and seek another opinion. This approach can get expensive, especially if you have multiple health issues.