Is no news good news for blood tests, biopsies and scans?
No, no and no.
Note. That is a ‘no, no, non’ and a no, no, niet’ [“I think we have got it now”. MyHSN Ed]
This is the single most important piece of advice on MyHSN
You cannot assume that just because your GP, hospital doctor, nurse (or anyone) has not contacted you that things are OK.
This is not only for a blood test. It could be for any x-ray, scan, biopsy, referral to a specialist, or being listed for a procedure or operation – whatever.
Check, check and check again that:
- You are booked for it (and/or on the waiting list)
- If its a test:
- the result is back,
- has been checked, and
- your treatment is being altered if necessary.
You can do this in many different ways. These include contacting your GP’s receptionist, if your GP arranged the test, or your hospital consultant’s secretary if it was arranged by the consultant. If you are concerned about anything, ask for a phone call from the doctor.
If you aren’t getting anywhere, contact the PALS office (for a hospital problem) or the practice manager at your GP surgery (for GP-related issues).
Why is this so?
- Admin of NHS is awful
- Partly as its too big and complicated
- Nothing (computers) and no one (people) talks to each other.
Your responsibility
is to be the glue in the system, and make sure all info is back, checked, acted on, and passed to anyone else that needs to know it.
Summary
So. Is no news good news for blood results, biopsies, scans (in fact any medical result, or any planned thing)? No, no, no. Check, check and check again.
[“Yes, we HAVE got it”. Ed]
