My first sucky patient..

[cheese]

Thankfully, I don't work in retail anymore (yay!) and I'm now working in a hospital, in a department where I have to deal with very few patients. However I do occasionally have to speak to them on the phone and make appointments for them. So far they've all been fine, except this one:

*ring ring* Me: Hello, *my department*
Her: Hello, my name is *Mary Smith* and my husband *John Smith* has an appointment with *eye specialist* in 2 weeks time and I wanted to discuss it with you, you see I found a great deal on a holiday on the internet, you see I've always wanted to go to Spain and could never afford it before but we have this friend you see and they told me about this website and I went on there and I got this discount because we're members of this club you see, well and basically I wanted to see if I could bring my husbands appointment forward at all so we could go away because we really need a holiday you see we haven't been on one for years and it'd be nice to have a break from the kids you know how they can be.. (I swear she said this all without breathing)
Me: I'm afraid that there is no way I can bring the appointment forward, *eye specialist* has a large waiting list and his clinics are all overbooked at the moment, however I can change the appointment to the next available slot if you'd like but it probably wouldn't be for a few months.
Her: (completely changes tone, Jekyll and Hyde style-ee) Well thats absolutely ridiculous my husband is diabetic you see and he NEEDS to see the doctor as soon as possible I CANNOT BELIEVE you would put his life in danger like this I MEAN WHAT IF HE DIED I MEAN I WOULD HOLD YOU RESPONSIBLE i can't believe you cannot even change an appointment for me you must be completely incompetent no one else would delay a diabetics patient in this way its disgusting
Me: Well i'm afraid as his appointment is only a routine check up there is no way I can bring it forward (if it was an urgent referral for something related to his diabetes then maybe I could have done, but not for an eye appointment in no way related), either your husband will have to attend this appointment and cancel your holiday or I can make one in a few months time for you.
Her: How dare you say I should cancel my holiday my husband needs this holiday, were you not listening he has diabetes you see and he needs a break and if we continue to be treated in this way we might have to go private I mean the NHS is completely incompetent what do you think of that then??
Me: I'm afraid there is nothing I can do, I will keep the appointment as it currently is, and it is your choice whether you choose to put your husbands health before your holiday. Goodbye

I mean, the health service is free, do you really think threatening to go private is going to upset me or the doctor?

[Imogene]

*blink, blink* Um, getting an eye exam won't counter-act his diabetes, will it? I know loss of eye sight is an effect of diabetes, but, getting glasses/contacts isn't going to cure him of it.

[Bright_Star]

Tell her that Guido in Spain will gladly do his exam. For mucho money senor...LOL.

[JustaCashier]

.......if we continue to be treated in this way we might have to go private I mean the NHS is completely incompetent what do you think of that then??

Have a nice trip to Spain, Ma'am!

Mike

[Bagga]

Erm. Ma'am, in view of the fact that you couldn't afford this holiday until you got a deal on it, are you SURE you want to spend the extra cash needed to go private for your eye appointment?

[earl colby pottinger]

Booked up for months

Your doctor is booked up for months, sounds like if he would *LOVE* a number of patients to go elsewhere so he can book his own holiday too.

I also find it interesting that the person most affected is not the one calling, rather the wife who seems more concerned in not missing out a deal that *SHE* made without talking to the husband first.

[BookstoreEscapee]

*blink, blink* Um, getting an eye exam won't counter-act his diabetes, will it? I know loss of eye sight is an effect of diabetes, but, getting glasses/contacts isn't going to cure him of it.

Plus, even if his diabetes is at a life-threatening stage, I doubt an eye exam is going to help him much...might save his sight, as yes, diabetes can cause blindness, but the eye doctor ain't gonna save his life...

[LemonZest]

Plus, even if his diabetes is at a life-threatening stage, I doubt an eye exam is going to help him much...might save his sight, as yes, diabetes can cause blindness, but the eye doctor ain't gonna save his life...

No....but having a timely eye specialist appointment might well save his vision.

I disagree with the way in which the SC handled herself on the phone, but there are reasons why diabetics need to be seen by eye specialists on fairly short notice (when a change in eyesight is noted, prompt action can reverse or reduce the damage, and waiting can be very hazardous and the damage can become permanent and debilitating). Just so you know.

LZ

[Andara Bledin]

I disagree with the way in which the SC handled herself on the phone, but there are reasons why diabetics need to be seen by eye specialists on fairly short notice (when a change in eyesight is noted, prompt action can reverse or reduce the damage, and waiting can be very hazardous and the damage can become permanent and debilitating).

Well, be that as it may, this was "only a routine checkup" as stated in the OP, so I very sincerely doubt that it was anything particularly important.

And if it was something important, I seriously doubt it would take a couple of months before you could get an appointment to see someone about it.

^-.-^

[LemonZest]

Well, be that as it may, this was "only a routine checkup" as stated in the OP, so I very sincerely doubt that it was anything particularly important.

And if it was something important, I seriously doubt it would take a couple of months before you could get an appointment to see someone about it.

^-.-^

You're quite entitled to think as you wish, of course, but I can only tell you that both my parents have routine checkup appointments purposely to check for diabetic retinopathy, and that these routine appointments ARE important to a diabetic.

While I think the woman caller in the OP handled the situation poorly, that does not negate that her husband may need to be seen in a more timely manner than you seem to suggest, and it would seem to me the least that could be done would be to try to accomodate her holiday. Certainly the office to which my parents go does so.

LZ

[JuniorMintz]

Is NHS public assistance? If so, it would have been tempting to say "By all means, go private if you like because for every patient that cancels, I have about 6 who are on standby to fill it!"

I love how you handled it though, especially the last bit before hanging up. I work for an optometrist and my GAWD we get some doozies coming through so I feel your pain!

The only thing I would have done differently is I would have mentioned that I they could be put on a standby list if somebody cancels... I'm not sure if your practice has a wait list, it comes in handy sometimes.

But screw that lady, she was a melodramatic twat.

[Broomjockey]

it would seem to me the least that could be done would be to try to accomodate her holiday. Certainly the office to which my parents go does so.

See, I could see that if the holiday had been scheduled first, and it was an appointment that was supposed to be done every X number of weeks, but calling up and wanting a rearrangement two weeks before, already booking the trip (from what I understood), claiming that her husband could DIE, and the statement that it was a regular appointment, not tied to diabetes in any way.

But with all that, and people who are counting on their appointment times as they've set their schedule? I'm with JM. Waitlist them if there is one, otherwise, you had the appointment, you can't keep it because of your actions, you wait until the next spot opens up.

[wagegoth]

If the visit were that important, the patient had many alternatives:

1. If the eye exam were simply routine, reschedule for later;

2. If the eye exam were necessary for diabetes checks, scrape up the sum to see a private physician;

3. Don't book the vacation that day; or

4. Put your husband's health first and your desire for a holiday second.

Frankly, if he's diabetic and well enough to fly and roam about, then I would think he's healthy enough to postpone an eye exam for a month or two. If he's not, then she's just being selfish. Sounds like my mother-in-law.

[Brightglaive]

If the visit were that important, the patient had many alternatives:

1. If the eye exam were simply routine, reschedule for later;

2. If the eye exam were necessary for diabetes checks, scrape up the sum to see a private physician;

3. Don't book the vacation that day; or

4. Put your husband's health first and your desire for a holiday second.

Frankly, if he's diabetic and well enough to fly and roam about, then I would think he's healthy enough to postpone an eye exam for a month or two. If he's not, then she's just being selfish. Sounds like my mother-in-law.

I second that WG!!! I also have to repeat what's been said. If he's diabetic and well enough to fly and roam about, then his eye condition is NOT life threatening. An eye condition would only be life-threatening if he was having vision problems and lost his sight while doing something that is potentially life threatening, like hang gliding or spelunking.

I have type 2 diabetes and eye problems are a part of that. If the diabetes is controlled or controlled well enough then the possibility of sudden loss of eyesight is highly unlikely. An appt. to see the opthalmologist could probably be postponed a month. If the diabetes is wildly out-of-control then that lady has NO BUSINESS booking a vacation. If it's that out-of-control then eye problems are the least of that guy's worries. He'd be more likely to die of insulin shock/diabetic coma or ketoacidosis or complications of ketoacidosis (hyperosmolar non-ketotic coma or dehydration causing heart attack or renal failure.)

[Andara Bledin]

He'd be more likely to die of insulin shock/diabetic coma or ketoacidosis or complications of ketoacidosis (hyperosmolar non-ketotic coma or dehydration causing heart attack or renal failure.)

Ketoacidosis is scary. My ex is Type 1, and he went through a period where he wasn't really taking care of himself.

So he ended up in the hospital for a couple of weeks, but I was still labeled a shrew because I would get on his case for him not taking care of his sugar levels...

^-.-^