Surgery waiting times UK

Hey,

Just wondering if anyone in the UK can advise what sort of waiting times they've had lately for surgery please? I'm in the North West, it's for comparison really. I'm waiting for pouch excision surgery due to fistulas, but it's been 22 weeks now and I've not heard a peep from the hospital. When my op was first booked, I was told that it was down as 'urgent' and that I was top of the list (though I imagine I'm the only one on the pouch excision list to be honest, so that doesn't mean much)..

I was told that under normal circumstances they could guarantee me the op within a month, but due to Covid etc they were estimating 3 months.. it's so far been 5 months and I've literally heard nothing from the hospital, not even to check in etc ..

Has anyone else had recent surgery, or is waiting in the UK please? Just wondering what your waiting times are looking like and if I should be hassling the hospital a bit more by now to get a date booked?

Thank you, FF

2/24/228:50 AM

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Scott FMember

In general it’s best to check in when the estimated time has passed, in any system. That’s the only way to find out if they lost you.

2/24/229:27 AM

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TrojanMember

Hi there, I’m in the South West. I had an emergency loop ileostomy in Sept and waited 5 months just for a follow up outpatients. Now waiting for a reversal or pouch revision and assuming 6 months most likely. My surgeon is always overly optimistic so I double what he says.

Like Scott says, defnitely follow up (with a call to your Doc’s secretary), at the date you were told, just to make sure they haven’t forgotten about you. I don’t think that counts as hassling them, just being reasonable. Best of luck

2/28/2211:26 AM

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F'ing FistulaMember

Thank you both for your replies, it's appreciated. I know it was a bit of a silly question really 🤦, and that there's no way to predict waiting times under normal circumstances, let alone with the pressure the NHS is still under after Covid. I think I was just curious about other people's experiences lately, so thank you both.

Trojan, I hope you hear news soon with a date for your next op, and obviously good luck for when it comes round 😊. I don't know what your situation is, but it sounds like you may have had to make a similar decision to me about whether to revise, recreate or remove your pouch. It is a particularly difficult choice so best wishes for you whatever you decide..

3/7/222:56 PM

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