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Wrong info from Consultant

Tegan

I just want to cry ?

I have been waiting 7 months to see a neurologist after my legs swelled up, I got blood pooling, pain in every joint in my body, hair loss and more than a dozen other symptoms. I struggle to walk for more than a few steps and use and walking stick and for longer walks a walking frame on wheels. My job is trying to dismiss me under capability grounds as currently I can’t walk the 4.5 miles to work so I applied for the Access to work scheme which I have been waiting on for over a month.

saw Neurologist Monday - I had my walking frame with me and when asked i stepped from the chair to the examination bed (less than one metre) and his written in a letter to my doctor that I can walk unassisted!!

I live alone and have had house adaptions to get me up the stairs I can’t stand in the shower can’t even stand long enough for a kettle to boil yet he has announced that I can walk unassisted which is going to destroy any chance of getting an access to work grant so I have just basically lost my job.

I don’t understand why he would write such an untrue statement!!!

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Comments

Tori_Scope

Hi @Tegan. I'm really sorry that you've had this experience, as I'm sure it must be extremely stressful. It's not something I know a huge amount about, so I'm hoping that another member will be able to share some personal experiences soon.

Are there any other ways you could travel to work for the time being if needed?

Have you had an assessment from occupational health?

chiarieds

Hi @Tegan - I'm posting 'just in case' this helps. Unfortunately Drs usually dictate notes after your appointment, which their secretary then writes up. He may have said the wrong thing, or his secretary could have misheard. From personal experience, I can say both things can happen, unfortunately.

I've tried 3 things after receiving incorrect info in letters, all of which were fortunately successful.

The first to try is to ring the Dr's secretary to explain, & see if you can get a letter corrected, saying why it's important. I may have been lucky, but the secretaries I've been in contact with were very sympathetic, & helpful.

The 2nd thing I did (perhaps something for future reference) was to ask the specialist to email me their letter prior to sending it to my GP, as was going to happen in this instance. Mine & both of my children's letters were full of inaccuracies; my daughter's being the worst. So I initially edited hers putting the incorrect info in brackets, followed by how it should be in bold type, explaining this. This specialist was so pleased, he asked me to amend the other 2 letters in a similar fashion, which he would then sign, sending a copy to my GP, as well as to each of us. We share a genetic disorder, so I wanted to ensure all of our medical history was correct.

Lastly, with another specialist, I emailed him, politely mentioning the errors (again after asking for an email copy of his letter prior to him sending an actual letter out). This took longer, but again, this was corrected.

Hoping this may help; it's worth a try.

Tegan

Thank you, they are all good suggestions I will try contacting the secretary.

I have had an occupational health assessment multiple in fact and I’m on a phased return working from home. But my job wants me back full time in the office and there is just no other way to get to work. Even if I caught a bus I would have to walk 10 minutes to the bus stop to catch the bus then 20 minutes the other end - which right now is impossible.

I’m having almost constant pain flares just working 4hrs 3 days a week instead of my normal 40hrs I used to do until I woke up in March suddenly disabled

Tegan

*UPDATE* spoke to the secretary who checked with the consultant and it was a typo and they are sending an addendum to the letter

chiarieds

Thank you for the update @Tegan - so pleased the matter was successfully resolved; that's great to hear.