birdie gets political. eek

Categories: uncategorized

Date: 03 July 2007 20:48:12

Refer back to this post if you don't remember the neurosurgery fiasco I ranted about in March.

So, we saw the neurosurgeon last Wednesday, after Groover's paediatrician phoned him to get us an appointment. I told him what had happened and there was much eye-rolling - it was obviously a familiar story. It seems that Health Commission Wales have decided they don't want to fund people in Wales going out of Wales for neuro services, but rather than actually tell anyone (like, the patients or their parents), all records on hospital F's system with a Welsh address got deleted. Seriously.

So nobody knows about it unless, like us, they think to themselves 'goodness, we haven't been to hospital F for a long time' and phone up.

The neurosurgeon does want to continue to see Groover, he's making a clinic appointment for 12 months' time, but he said the system might not even be able to cope with that, so if we don't get an appointment soon, to check back with him.

I also saw Groover's GP today, on an unrelated matter, and mentioned it to her, as the surgeon reckoned that our GP and paediatrician probably aren't even aware this is going on. Between them, my conversations with the GP and the neurosurgeon have indicated the following:
- some children have fallen through the net and their health has suffered badly as a result of not being seen
- Health Commission Wales don't want people to know that they're doing this, so if you start making noise about it, they'll back off and let you be seen where you want to be seen
- the whole thing makes a mockery of the notion of equality of care, as it's those who *shout loudest *have the time to chase these things up *are articulate enough to get to grips with the system who get the care for their children that they need.
I know from other people I've met along the way that we have is easy with Groover - I juggle three hospitals and four specialists (that's not many compared to some), I have only one child, I don't work, I have the time to be a very awkward woman about the whole thing if that's what's necessary. Other people don't have this luxury and it's their children who are going to fall through the gaps.

Anyway, the upshot is I have made an appointment to see my assembly member and tell him all about it.

(Facebook update: 18 friends, be still my heart.)