NHS waiting lists
Discussion
Our 3.5 year old son may have hearing difficulties (affecting his speech development) so we took him to the GP around 4 months ago to get him referred for a 20 min hearing test.
Despite numerous phone calls and waiting for promised call backs we are no closer than knowing that he is on a paediatric appointment list to further refer him to a hearing specialist.
Christ on a bike; the paeds appointment would take all of 5 mins.
Is the NHS really that under staffed and over subscribed?
I guess the age and circumstances are low priority.
I've checked today into paying for a private hearing test which is £125 and probably worth it for the 20 mins it will take.
Despite numerous phone calls and waiting for promised call backs we are no closer than knowing that he is on a paediatric appointment list to further refer him to a hearing specialist.
Christ on a bike; the paeds appointment would take all of 5 mins.
Is the NHS really that under staffed and over subscribed?
I guess the age and circumstances are low priority.
I've checked today into paying for a private hearing test which is £125 and probably worth it for the 20 mins it will take.
unfortunately some nhs services are massively oversubscribed, maybe your area has staffing issues in paediatrics, but it is a shame that no one has kept you informed.
Have you asked your gp what they expect the waiting time is likely to be?. Most hospital departments have an 18 week referral to treatment target
Have you asked your gp what they expect the waiting time is likely to be?. Most hospital departments have an 18 week referral to treatment target
Kentish said:
Our 3.5 year old son may have hearing difficulties (affecting his speech development) so we took him to the GP around 4 months ago to get him referred for a 20 min hearing test.
Despite numerous phone calls and waiting for promised call backs we are no closer than knowing that he is on a paediatric appointment list to further refer him to a hearing specialist.
Christ on a bike; the paeds appointment would take all of 5 mins.
Is the NHS really that under staffed and over subscribed?
I guess the age and circumstances are low priority.
I've checked today into paying for a private hearing test which is £125 and probably worth it for the 20 mins it will take.
I know how you are feeling. My 5 year old recently saw the school nurse (mainly regarding poor/unusual diet) and we were asked if we wanted him to be referred to a paediatrician.Despite numerous phone calls and waiting for promised call backs we are no closer than knowing that he is on a paediatric appointment list to further refer him to a hearing specialist.
Christ on a bike; the paeds appointment would take all of 5 mins.
Is the NHS really that under staffed and over subscribed?
I guess the age and circumstances are low priority.
I've checked today into paying for a private hearing test which is £125 and probably worth it for the 20 mins it will take.
So we agreed - the wait is 18 weeks. We have just received a letter informing us we will be contacted in around 10 weeks with the appointment details.
We did a bit of research around doing it privately but it turns out the most highly rated local paediatrician is an NHS one anyway.
I do have some positive new!
The day I posted here, my Wife spent a lot of time making phone calls during most of the day and she was put in touch with the NHS Audiology Department at our local hospital and managed to book an appointment with them directly.
It is so often the case that you just need to get lucky and speak with someone who cares and is willing to help.
He had his visit this morning and some very thorough hearing tests which concluded that at this moment in time his hearing is perfectly normal. He may have had inner ear issues earlier during development and this may have coincided with when he started to speak but now he's fine; we just need to coach him with speech at home so that he catches up before starting school.
I had one completely unexpected response to my original post here; one extremely kind PH'er (who wishes to remain anonymous) emailed me and offered to pay for my son to be seen privately. I was quite overwhelmed by such kindness and generosity to someone unknown and if this kind person is reading this before seeing my email to them; please accept my sincere and heartfelt thanks for such an incredibly kind offer
The day I posted here, my Wife spent a lot of time making phone calls during most of the day and she was put in touch with the NHS Audiology Department at our local hospital and managed to book an appointment with them directly.
It is so often the case that you just need to get lucky and speak with someone who cares and is willing to help.
He had his visit this morning and some very thorough hearing tests which concluded that at this moment in time his hearing is perfectly normal. He may have had inner ear issues earlier during development and this may have coincided with when he started to speak but now he's fine; we just need to coach him with speech at home so that he catches up before starting school.
I had one completely unexpected response to my original post here; one extremely kind PH'er (who wishes to remain anonymous) emailed me and offered to pay for my son to be seen privately. I was quite overwhelmed by such kindness and generosity to someone unknown and if this kind person is reading this before seeing my email to them; please accept my sincere and heartfelt thanks for such an incredibly kind offer
andy118run said:
Kentish said:
Our 3.5 year old son may have hearing difficulties (affecting his speech development) so we took him to the GP around 4 months ago to get him referred for a 20 min hearing test.
Despite numerous phone calls and waiting for promised call backs we are no closer than knowing that he is on a paediatric appointment list to further refer him to a hearing specialist.
Christ on a bike; the paeds appointment would take all of 5 mins.
Is the NHS really that under staffed and over subscribed?
I guess the age and circumstances are low priority.
I've checked today into paying for a private hearing test which is £125 and probably worth it for the 20 mins it will take.
I know how you are feeling. My 5 year old recently saw the school nurse (mainly regarding poor/unusual diet) and we were asked if we wanted him to be referred to a paediatrician.Despite numerous phone calls and waiting for promised call backs we are no closer than knowing that he is on a paediatric appointment list to further refer him to a hearing specialist.
Christ on a bike; the paeds appointment would take all of 5 mins.
Is the NHS really that under staffed and over subscribed?
I guess the age and circumstances are low priority.
I've checked today into paying for a private hearing test which is £125 and probably worth it for the 20 mins it will take.
So we agreed - the wait is 18 weeks. We have just received a letter informing us we will be contacted in around 10 weeks with the appointment details.
We did a bit of research around doing it privately but it turns out the most highly rated local paediatrician is an NHS one anyway.
Good luck to you and your son.
Kentish said:
Our 3.5 year old son may have hearing difficulties (affecting his speech development)
Glad his hearing has checked out OK. Have you been referred to a speech and language therapist to help speed up getting him back on track?And on a related note: Have you had his sight tested as well?
We had similar issues with our eldest who was barely saying anything at 3. The biggest problem we found was actually getting someone to refer him, the opinion almost across the board was "Just wait, it will come".
We had to make a real nuisance of ourselves to finally get referred to the speech and language team, but once there they were very good and got stuff booked fairly quickly. As well as the hearing test, the recommended a sight test and we eventually discovered that the poor lad is severely long sighted.
A couple of months after getting his specs, the words started and 12 months later you'd struggle to believe he ever had a problem.
Obviously we can't prove the two are linked, but the sudden progression in his talking, confidence, co-ordination etc... can't be all co-incidence.
Kentish said:
I do have some positive new!
The day I posted here, my Wife spent a lot of time making phone calls during most of the day and she was put in touch with the NHS Audiology Department at our local hospital and managed to book an appointment with them directly.
It is so often the case that you just need to get lucky and speak with someone who cares and is willing to help.
Not done this with kids but my elderly Mum has multiple serious health issues and every now and again hits a brick wall. A Consultant told me DO NOT sit back and wait for something to happen - get on the 'phone and hassle people. They don't like it but it does seem to work.The day I posted here, my Wife spent a lot of time making phone calls during most of the day and she was put in touch with the NHS Audiology Department at our local hospital and managed to book an appointment with them directly.
It is so often the case that you just need to get lucky and speak with someone who cares and is willing to help.
[quote=Kentish]I do have some positive new!
The day I posted here, my Wife spent a lot of time making phone calls during most of the day and she was put in touch with the NHS Audiology Department at our local hospital and managed to book an appointment with them directly.
It is so often the case that you just need to get lucky and speak with someone who cares and is willing to help.
......................................................................................................
I think the lucky bit is where you live and what hospital you use.
I`m full of praise for Royal Berks Hospital in Reading.Their audiology department is wonderful,I`ve just had my aids upgraded to the very latest models,nothing wrong with my old ones?
Had laser eye surgery for glaucoma instantly and cataract lens replacement done after someone called me at home saying they could do it next Saturday morning!!.Last December I had a prostate biopsy almost on demand with the results within a week,I`m all clear with cancer.
Why is it that my hospital is so good and other people get crap service.
The day I posted here, my Wife spent a lot of time making phone calls during most of the day and she was put in touch with the NHS Audiology Department at our local hospital and managed to book an appointment with them directly.
It is so often the case that you just need to get lucky and speak with someone who cares and is willing to help.
......................................................................................................
I think the lucky bit is where you live and what hospital you use.
I`m full of praise for Royal Berks Hospital in Reading.Their audiology department is wonderful,I`ve just had my aids upgraded to the very latest models,nothing wrong with my old ones?
Had laser eye surgery for glaucoma instantly and cataract lens replacement done after someone called me at home saying they could do it next Saturday morning!!.Last December I had a prostate biopsy almost on demand with the results within a week,I`m all clear with cancer.
Why is it that my hospital is so good and other people get crap service.
Edited by Old Merc on Saturday 17th January 15:04
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