General Medical issues thread

[prozac]

I apologise in advance as I feel I am always whingeing on this thread.
I am about to make a bunch of enemies. Today I responded to a Ramsey Health survey with a complaint.

Last Monday I went for a post op check-up after the pacemaker change-over 3 weeks ago. There was a new pacemaker rep there and I asked if my old pacemaker setting had been copied across to the new pacemaker as discussed prior to the operation. The answer was in the affirmative.

Some background here so you know it took a long time after I received my first pacemaker to discover why it was not working with my heart and then more months to experiment with different settings to get a work-around to it worked properly for me. The result was notes on my file to never change the settings on my pacemaker. On Monday I did not trust the answer I received from the new rep and so I asked it in a different way. Still affirmative. I asked a total of 5 times until the rep admitted the settings were of a standard pacemaker. Why, didn’t anyone read the warning notes in my file?
What notes?
There is nothing in my file to this effect?
No.
OK you need to look up my old settings and re-calibrate my pacemaker.
We don’t keep your old settings.

I am incredulous at this stage. Then call the senior rep.. 5 days prior to the op I asked him to make sure my settings would be transferred across. I also insisted he make a separate copy of them.
She called this rep and he sent the copy and my pacemaker was adjusted.
Since the operation I’ve had 3-5 nightly angina episodes. Since re-calibration I have not had one night time angina episode.

I cannot believe this was able to happen. Worse I cannot believe I had to ask 5 times to discover I was walking around with a ticking time bomb. It was only that I am familiar with some of the various settings in my pacemaker I was able to ask what they were and to say these are not my settings!
When I was discharged I was not able to walk up the short incline in-front of North Shore private to the chapel without stopping 3 times.

On a positive note yesterday I had an appointment with my wonderful haematologist prior to receiving an IVIG infusion. I still cannot believe my luck having her monitor my treatment.

 

[Quickstatus]

I asked him to make sure my settings would be transferred across.

It's incredible they didn't transfer the setting across at a minimum with a pacemaker box change

 

[VPS]

I apologise in advance as I feel I am always whingeing on this thread.
I am about to make a bunch of enemies. Today I responded to a Ramsey Health survey with a complaint.

Last Monday I went for a post op check-up after the pacemaker change-over 3 weeks ago. There was a new pacemaker rep there and I asked if my old pacemaker setting had been copied across to the new pacemaker as discussed prior to the operation. The answer was in the affirmative.

Some background here so you know it took a long time after I received my first pacemaker to discover why it was not working with my heart and then more months to experiment with different settings to get a work-around to it worked properly for me. The result was notes on my file to never change the settings on my pacemaker. On Monday I did not trust the answer I received from the new rep and so I asked it in a different way. Still affirmative. I asked a total of 5 times until the rep admitted the settings were of a standard pacemaker. Why, didn’t anyone read the warning notes in my file?
What notes?
There is nothing in my file to this effect?
No.
OK you need to look up my old settings and re-calibrate my pacemaker.
We don’t keep your old settings.

I am incredulous at this stage. Then call the senior rep.. 5 days prior to the op I asked him to make sure my settings would be transferred across. I also insisted he make a separate copy of them.
She called this rep and he sent the copy and my pacemaker was adjusted.
Since the operation I’ve had 3-5 nightly angina episodes. Since re-calibration I have not had one night time angina episode.

I cannot believe this was able to happen. Worse I cannot believe I had to ask 5 times to discover I was walking around with a ticking time bomb. It was only that I am familiar with some of the various settings in my pacemaker I was able to ask what they were and to say they are not my settings!
When I was discharged I was not able to walk up the short incline in-front of North Shore private to the chapel without stopping 3 times.

On a positive note yesterday I had an appointment with my wonderful haematologist prior to receiving an IVIG infusion. I still cannot believe my luck having her monitor my treatment.

That sounds like malpractice.

Good luck with your complaint

 

[prozac]

It's incredible they didn't transfer the setting across at a minimum with a pacemaker box change

That;s what I asked them to do prior to the box change and I received an assurance it would happen.
There is no program to instruct the processor how to deal with an unusual symptom in my heart. It took a long time to discover this and some months to play around with settings to accommodate it. It was critical I keep these settings. As mentioned, literally a ticking time bomb.

That sounds like malpractice.

Good luck with your complaint

I don't expect the complaint to make a difference as I discovered there is a lot of cover-up in hospital. I am pretty sure my surgeon will disown me and I will be back to The San in future for pacemaker checks. I don't know whose responsibility it was to make certain but I expect there will be fallout. I thought long and hard about answering the survey before I decided to complete it.

 

[Quickstatus]

I don't expect the complaint to make a difference

It would because your case will be raised to the Department's morbidity meetings