soooooo annoyed

[gemmas85]

was reffered to mr small for surgery in october. I went back to see a different surgeon in jan about something else but as he brought up my notes he mentioned the bypass and said that my BMI was not high enough and i didnt meet the criteria.
So I was to either put on weight or there was a private surgeon locally who did the bypass. so i booked to go privately and had the op done on 24th march. today i have recieved a letter from sunderland royal hospital saying i had an appointment with mr small on the 19th july.......
To say I am annoyed is an understatement. i had to skrimp, beg and borrow to raise the 11000 for my op and now i find that i am one step closer to getting it on the NHS its just a shame its 3 months too late. I feel completely let down by my doctors now and have no idea what to do now

 

[galm37]

I don't blame you Gemma. Bloody typical! Sometimes doctors don't know there *rse from there elbow. I'm so sorry you had to go through all that to have been eligable in the first place

 

[MrsSAFC]

thats sooo annoying - I dont know what you could do??

how is the bypass going??

 

[gemmas85]

I've wrote a very long winded account of the entire thing to our station medical officer (i live on a military base) and if i dont get a reply I shall be letting the papers know how incompetant the doctors are here.
On the plus side the bypass is going really well lost 68lb in 12 weeks. I didnt have to do any pre op diet so its all post op which i am more that pleased with.

 

[angie790]

Hey Gemma,

B*gger, unfortunately these things do happen. What can you do about it, well, to be honest, not alot I think. But....(don't get your hopes up), I have heard of similar situations and I have read of at least one lady who managed to be recompensed some of the money she paid out (not all), retrospectively by the PCT. However, like I said, don't get your hopes up because if you don't/didn't meet your specific PCT criteria, there will be no chance. I would go along to that appointment & discuss it anyway. That said, look at it this way, you've had the bypass done, months, or even years sooner than if you would have had to go through the process with NHS funding. You are that much sooner on your way to a healthier, better life!

 

[angie790]

Sorry, I've just realised you are in Cyprus, did you have the op there? The rules & regulations may be totally different over there.

 

[MrsSAFC]

ah.... i used to live on RAF Cottesmore and the station medical officer was very ...... dismissive? (for want of a better word)

thats excellent loss!! so no matter what happens at least is worth it, and if i had the cash i would pay to be honest

 

[Kerry Jo]

I really feel for you, i would be so annoyed to if that had happened to me. Surely you must have met the criteria to be given an appointment. Try to look at the positives like you've had your op earlier and are successful. I hope you do end up getting some of your money back, fingers crossed xxx

 

[gemmas85]

thankyou everyone. I have written a strongly worded letter to the hospital wher i was told i would not be having the op. Its more so they are aware of how much people believe what they say and how it can effect lives.
i do live in cyprus but we still fall under the NHS and the PCT we use for this op is the one for sunderland because that is where the op will take place. there criteria said that my BMI had to be over 50 and at the time it was 47.7 i think

 

[christine77]

thats strange cos im with sunderland and my bmi when i started was 44 and now its 40 but im still getting the op , i always thought sunderlands criteria is 40 plus or between 30 - 40 with other health problems.

glad its going well for you

 

[Twiggie]

I don't know how things work at the Sunderland hospital but when I started out on my journey I saw my Consultant/Surgeon and had all the tests done prior to actually applying for funding. I could still have been refused even at that stage.

My thoughts are that receiving a letter to see the Consultant might not necessarily indicate you'd have been eligible for funding anyway, dependant upon how they work of course. It would be worth checking that aspect before firing off any angry letters to anyone. Good luck and let us know how you get on.