Care Opinion

No available contraception appointments

Posted By Bowserjr88

"No available contraception appointments"

About: Lanarkshire Community Services / Sexual Health

(as a service user),

I realised the other day that my contraceptive implant was due to be removed a few weeks ago so I went online to find out how I can have this removed and a new one placed. The nhs Scotland website informed me that I could book an appointment online or call the number given. I attempted to book online but it said there were no appointments available online and to call. So I done this. I waited for 45 minutes only to go from queue position 10 to 5 only to be cut off as the automated system said they could not take the call and hung up.

This morning I spent one hour and ten minutes on hold only to get through to a person who then told me no sorry there’s no appointments available you’ll have to try again on Monday.

This isn’t acceptable. In the last two days I have spent over two hours on hold, I do not have time to do this again next week only to be told the same thing again. While I understand the pressures the NHS is under, I require healthcare and have no access to it. It’s not good enough quite frankly.

More about:
Do you have a similar story to tell? Tell your story & make a difference ››

Responses

Response from Jennifer Montgomery, Improvement Coordinator, Quality Directorate, NHS Lanarkshire 2 years ago
Jennifer Montgomery
Improvement Coordinator, Quality Directorate,
NHS Lanarkshire

Operational Lead for Care Opinion in NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 10/03/2023 at 17:00
Published on Care Opinion at 17:00

picture of Jennifer Montgomery

Dear Bowserjr88,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story on Care Opinion. I am sorry to hear of the problems you are having booking a contraception appointment. It certainly shouldn't be this difficult.

I would ask that you contact our patient affairs team who will be able to take more information and provide a response to you. If you could allow me a little more time to get the correct contact details and I will provide these for you that would be appreciated.

Kind Regards,

Jenni

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful

Update posted by Bowserjr88 (a service user)

I’m back again and unfortunately weeks and weeks later despite trying most days, I’ve yet to be successful in getting an appointment.

To me this really is a failure of the health board. I definitely can’t be the only person who is logging on and wasting time looking for appointments that seemingly don’t exist. I’ve tried to look for private options because that’s the state of desperation I am in. I however do not have over £600 to pay to replace my implant, something which the nhs supposedly offers to do for free.

Basic healthcare, it’s not a luxury, I’m not asking for plastic surgery. If the gp surgeries had been allowed to keep this service then this problem might not exist however here we are. Wasting my life, worrying about something that 3 years ago I was able to get sorted in a reasonable time frame and now I’ve been trying for the best part of 2 months and still haven’t sorted.

On top of this my husband has left 6 voicemails at the self referral line for the vasectomy clinic (because yes, avoiding pregnancy is that important) and they also haven’t returned his calls. It’s consistent failure and it’s not ok.

Response from NHS Lanarkshire nearly 2 years ago
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 26/04/2023 at 14:38
Published on Care Opinion at 15:11

Thank you for taking the time to share your story on Care Opinion. I am very sorry to hear that you continue to have problems accessing Sexual Health services. In order that I can resolve this matter can I ask that you contact NHS Lanarkshire Patient Affairs: Telephone no: 01698 752800 Option2 or email: PatientAffairs.PrimaryCare@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk

Kind Regards

Geraldine

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Response from Hazel Mitchell, Service Manager, Adult Health Services, NHS Lanarkshire nearly 2 years ago
Hazel Mitchell
Service Manager, Adult Health Services,
NHS Lanarkshire

Submitted on 26/04/2023 at 14:43
Published on Care Opinion at 14:43

picture of Hazel Mitchell

Hi Bowserjr88

Thanks for contacting us via Care Opinion. I'm sorry to hear of your current experience with our service, it is never our intention to have patients feel like this. If you could contact Patient Affairs on PatientAffairs.PrimaryCare@lanarkshire.scot.nhs.uk with your contact details, they can forward it to me and I will get in touch to discuss this and hope to resolve the issue with you.

Thanks

Hazel

  • {{helpful}} {{helpful == 1 ? "person thinks" : "people think"}} this response is helpful
Opinions
Next Response j
Previous Response k