Information Sharing

kiwi_1706

I wonder if anyone else gets totally frustrated with almost every organisation or company, refusing to allow me to speak to them on my husband's behalf, because they don't have a power of attorney on file? The health services in England are so fragmented now... I have sent the power of attorney to a number of "NHS" organisations, including his GP surgery... but every single time I try to do something on his behalf, they refuse to speak to me because they don't have the POA in front of them. Even things like me contacting them to make him an appointment... I have just contacted physiological measurements.com to try to arrange a scan for him, and the bot at the end of the phone just keeps telling me she can't share confidential information with me... I don't want or need her to share confidential information with me... I just want her to make him an appointment, and send it to him. 

Instead of that, I am supposed to then spend twenty minutes contacting the GP surgery to try to get them to send the POA across to them... the GP surgery never ever do these out of the ordinary things straight away, so that's another 1-2 days delay (unless they forget completely, and then you can probably add a week!!)... and then I'm supposed to ring them back to arrange the appointment I needed to arrange in the first place, spending yet another fifteen minutes in the call queue!

This just seems like discrimination to me. So fed up with all the barriers in this country!

kiwi_1706

Thanks @woodbine... no... it's not always possible for my husband to speak to them. He has recently been housed separately from us, because he was not coping here, so now I am still caring for him, remotely.

Thanks @Cressida... yes, it's fine with the GP practice, because they have the POA on file... but he has complex medical issues, and lots of different referrals at the moment especially.... and when I ring them up they invariably have lots of rules - can't accept faxes/emails or both... can't ring the GP surgery for confirmation that they can speak to me... etc etc etc... It can take me days sometimes to sort it out, and every day it takes not only reduces the amount of time I have available to support him, and our two autistic children, but it also delays his medical treatment.