Elderly’s three-month wait for referral letter from Luyang Clinic
Published on: Wednesday, June 26, 2024
By: Sidney Skinner
The elderly patient was hoping to get a referral letter from the Luyang Health Clinic.
THE Health Department has dismissed a Likas senior citizen’s claims about the difficulty he experienced in being referred to the Cardiology Unit at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital II (QEH II) as a misunderstanding.
The individual alleged that it took three months for the Luyang Health Clinic (LHC) to issue the letter which would allow him to be seen by specialists with the unit.
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He detailed his grievance in writing to Hotline. A copy of this correspondence was forwarded to the agency.
A Department spokesman said the administration of the LHC was queried about this matter.
He said the referral letter was ready for collection in the second week of June, several days after the doctor told the patient that he would prepare the document.
“The nurses tried contacting him twice to come and get the letter but, as of the time of our investigation, their calls had gone unanswered,” he said.
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He said a check of the clinic’s records showed that the patient was seen by a doctor at the LHC in March.
“His case was referred to the ‘cardio’ team the next day based on the results from the private medical institution which he had been going to.
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“These results showed high calcification in the coronary arteries.”
In April, he went personally to QEH II and was given an appointment to be seen by the Cardio Unit two months later.
He said the cardio team subsequently informed the Clinic that the patient did not need to undergo “cardio TCA (thermal coronary angiography) as the calcium in coronaries (could) be over reported and not conclusive”.
“The patient would immediately be ordered to undergo the procedure in the event that he experienced chest pains.”
The spokesman said the LHC doctor, who dealt with the patient, personally explained all this to him over the phone on the same day that the Clinic learned of the team’s decision.
He explained that TCA had been developed to detect “intraoperative graft failures”.
“The method is based on the small temperature gradient that is produced by the inflow of blood into the graft and can be detected using an infrared scanner.”
HUGH of Likas was seen by a doctor at the LHC in the third week of March.
“She took a look at the medical reports issued by a private hospital and informed me that she would email QEH II about my heart condition,” he said.
In April, he returned to the clinic for a check-up.
“A different doctor dealt with me on this occasion. She was in the dark when I asked about the earlier conversation with her colleague concerning the possibility of being seen by the Cardiology Unit at QEH II.”
Hugh was so unsettled by this turn of events that he went directly to the hospital after he left the LHC that day.
“I met with a doctor at the Cardio Unit who gave me an appointment for a Tuesday in June. He told me that, as a matter of procedure, I would still have to obtain a referral letter from the clinic.”
He said he went to the LHC on June 7 to try and get this document.
“Despite explaining why I was there, the counter staff still insisted on taking a blood sample and recording my weight.
“I waited for two hours at the Clinic before being seen by a doctor. He told me that he would contact me within a week about the referral letter.”
Hugh claimed that he had not heard back from the doctor 10 days later.
“The doctor’s words only amounted to lip service.
“It is very exhausting for senior citizens, like myself, to keep going back and forth just for a referral letter. I can’t understand why it is so difficult for the Clinic to issue this document.
“I can only wonder at the current state of our healthcare service. I really hope someone can explain this.”
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