Carol was due to have an appointment with the stoma nurse on Thursday morning at around 10.15. We arrived in good time, deciding to walk as the weather was fine. We got to out-patients in plenty of time and Carol signed in at one of the self-service screens. Well, the one that was actually working as sometimes they don't function. We were sent through to the correct area. You get assigned a place nearest where your appointment is booked. There were two staff members on the reception area and there were very few patients waiting. One man near us, filling in a form. Another man in the next area doing the same. Presumably you have to fill in these forms if you are a new patient. Why don't they send them out in the post, or via email (for those who have access to a computer of some sort.) so that you have the form filled in when you arrived at your appointment? They probably had, but it does seem far more logical if you arrived with the form already completed. Carol attempted to join in the conversation the two staff were having, but one of them, a really cross-looking of woman in her late 40's or early 50's totally ignored her. A lady came in with a child and needed some assistance, but this staff member was somewhat abrasive with her. Well, I thought so. Not exactly the sort of manner you expect from N.H.S. staff. Most are extremely polite and pleasant, but this woman was really rude.
Carol was eventually called in by the nurse. She knows us well, so it was quite an easy appointment. Afterwards we went to have coffee in Costa, which is in the new entrance area of the hospital. Nice to be able to relax after the appointment.
Before we left, Carol walked back towards the main area of the hospital through the long corridor and we ended up at the hairdressers. I've walked past on several occasions and noticed this. She managed to book a hair appointment for 3 o'clock this afternoon. It has been quite difficult to make such an appointment, when she has so many various hospital appointments, along with chemotherapy sessions.
We went back to the hospital for Carol's hair appointment. The lady who did the hair-trim was very efficient and the job was done very quickly. Carol had looked on-line to find a hair style that suited her and eventually found exactly what she wanted and we printed it out to take to the appointment. Unfortunately we didn't have the correct money to pay for the haircut, and they didn't have a chip-and-pin machine to pay and didn't have the cash on us, so I had to go to an A.T.M. machine. The machine at the hospital entrance was 'out of order,' and I realised that there was a machine near the restaurant which was a long walk through those endless corridors, but I managed to get the cash out and walk back to the hairdresser's salon. Done and paid.
On Friday Carol had a further appointment with one of the oncology consultants at the Macmillan Unit at Milton Keynes Hospital. It was another bright and fairly sunny day so it seemed a sensible idea to again walk, avoiding having to park the car. We got to the Macmillan unit far too early. We saw the colorectal nurse we've seen on many occasions. Infact she was there at the time of Carol's original diagnosis but we haven't seen her that many times over the past year or so. Then we were called in to see the consultant. We had been told that things were going well, that the chemotherapy was successful, that the tumors were shrinking considerably. We had been told that Carol was to have two operations, one in Milton Keynes to deal with the lower bowel tumors and then she would go to Oxford for the liver operation and that some radiotherapy would be used. That was what we were expecting when we went to the Churchill in Oxford a few weeks ago. But when Carol mentioned all this on Friday she was told that they had never promised an use of an operation. We are beginning to get very conflicting responses from both Oxford and Milton Keynes. Carol was told that she needed to have a P.E.T. can in Oxford, and that they had attempted to ring her during the week but couldn't get through, hence the cancer coordinator who rang the other day. She had been told that Oxford wanted the scan done before her next Chemotherapy cycle (which will be the final, twelfth, one, starting this Tuesday.) before they can go ahead with the liver operation. But then the consultant in Milton Keynes said he knew nothing about this. We are going to Oxford on Monday, having got the scan appointment there at about 3.30 in the afternoon. (On Monday morning Carol has to go to the Milton Keynes oncology department as usual to have another blood test to check that she can continue with chemotherapy on Tuesday.) So you can see why we are so confused as to what is actually going on and what the next stage of treatment will be. I would say that both sides need to sort out any communication issues which is what is causing all the confusion. We spoke to a nurse who has now gone out of her way to attempt to find out what is going on and we will have a meeting with the lead consultant who will be able to rectify any confusion which should put our minds at rest. Unfortunately after the consultant's meeting on Friday, we left feeling somewhat negative about things, which didn't exactly help matters.
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We went back to the hospital for Carol's hair appointment. The lady who did the hair-trim was very efficient and the job was done very quickly. Carol had looked on-line to find a hair style that suited her and eventually found exactly what she wanted and we printed it out to take to the appointment. Unfortunately we didn't have the correct money to pay for the haircut, and they didn't have a chip-and-pin machine to pay and didn't have the cash on us, so I had to go to an A.T.M. machine. The machine at the hospital entrance was 'out of order,' and I realised that there was a machine near the restaurant which was a long walk through those endless corridors, but I managed to get the cash out and walk back to the hairdresser's salon. Done and paid.
On Friday Carol had a further appointment with one of the oncology consultants at the Macmillan Unit at Milton Keynes Hospital. It was another bright and fairly sunny day so it seemed a sensible idea to again walk, avoiding having to park the car. We got to the Macmillan unit far too early. We saw the colorectal nurse we've seen on many occasions. Infact she was there at the time of Carol's original diagnosis but we haven't seen her that many times over the past year or so. Then we were called in to see the consultant. We had been told that things were going well, that the chemotherapy was successful, that the tumors were shrinking considerably. We had been told that Carol was to have two operations, one in Milton Keynes to deal with the lower bowel tumors and then she would go to Oxford for the liver operation and that some radiotherapy would be used. That was what we were expecting when we went to the Churchill in Oxford a few weeks ago. But when Carol mentioned all this on Friday she was told that they had never promised an use of an operation. We are beginning to get very conflicting responses from both Oxford and Milton Keynes. Carol was told that she needed to have a P.E.T. can in Oxford, and that they had attempted to ring her during the week but couldn't get through, hence the cancer coordinator who rang the other day. She had been told that Oxford wanted the scan done before her next Chemotherapy cycle (which will be the final, twelfth, one, starting this Tuesday.) before they can go ahead with the liver operation. But then the consultant in Milton Keynes said he knew nothing about this. We are going to Oxford on Monday, having got the scan appointment there at about 3.30 in the afternoon. (On Monday morning Carol has to go to the Milton Keynes oncology department as usual to have another blood test to check that she can continue with chemotherapy on Tuesday.) So you can see why we are so confused as to what is actually going on and what the next stage of treatment will be. I would say that both sides need to sort out any communication issues which is what is causing all the confusion. We spoke to a nurse who has now gone out of her way to attempt to find out what is going on and we will have a meeting with the lead consultant who will be able to rectify any confusion which should put our minds at rest. Unfortunately after the consultant's meeting on Friday, we left feeling somewhat negative about things, which didn't exactly help matters.
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