6:40pm Sunday 11th March 2012
RE last week’s letter from Dr Graz Luzzi, headlined ‘Doctors have proposed this to improve care’.
IN response to the letter from Drs Grazzi and Payne, published last week in the BFP on the subject of better health care in Bucks, I have to say that my personal experience is quite at odds with their claims in which they state, and I quote “..none of the proposals apply to appointment based hospital care. If you come to Wycombe Hospital for check ups, tests or any other outpatient appointments, you will continue to do so.”
And: “We are not expecting people who currently use Wycombe Hospital for any appointment based care to get on a bus or drive to Stoke Mandeville.”
I have had a back problem since July last year which has required physiotherapy and an MRI scan both of which were administered at High Wycombe. Following the MRI scan it was deemed that I needed to be referred to an orthopaedic consultant and I was asked where I would want to be seen. I saw no reason why this should not be done at High Wycombe especially as it is relatively easy for me to get to the hospital and I have received excellent treatment from there in the past.
You can imagine my surprise to find that six weeks later (it having been chased up by my doctor) my appointment was made for 09.20 on the 21st April at Stoke Mandeville.
As a consequence I am now faced with an uncomfortable two hour, two bus, journey to Stoke Mandeville and the same on the return for just a 20 minute consultation. To add insult to injury, as I need to travel before 09.00 my bus pass is not valid and I will have to pay for the outward journey!
I would also ask these doctors, when claiming a better health care, is – four weeks for the referral to get from the diagnostics centre at Cressex to the orthopaedic department (as told to my doctor) and another two weeks to have an appointment allocated – with a nine week wait time, fifteen weeks in total – what patients can expect?
Philip Nicholson, Oaktree Drive, Lane End
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