Deserted eye clinic!

[BusyLizzy]

Good morning Peeps,
Last Tuesday I went to the RAH, Paisley for my quarterly contact lens/eye check. I have been attending this clinic for the past five years and there is always a queue of patients sitting waiting in the corridor and I usually have to wait for 15-20 minutes at least after my scheduled appointment time to be seen.
Last time, the corridor was deserted.
This time, too, there were no other patients waiting. When I enquired why it was so quiet, all I was told was that the only other patient was an ambulance patient.
It's the exact same Tuesday clinic I have always been to.
I wonder what's going on?
I've also noticed since about February that I never get contact lens solutions from the clinic any more.
And my optician has changed (although my previous one is still there). Have the other patients jumped ship and gone to Gartnavel/The Western Infirmary? Will I ever know...?

[Matthew_]

I didn't even know Paisley has an eye clinic! I was sent straight to Gartnavel. There has been a lot of changes regarding the NHS around here; for example the near enough shutting down of the Vale. Perhaps Gartnavel is now THE eye clinic for the area? How do you get to RAH. My son was born there and I always drove there but Gartnavel is very accessible by train which is a bonus as I am not fond of driving recently.

[Andrew MacLean]

I think that the Hospital Board has rezoned areas so that more patients are being seen at Gartnavel.

The only other alternative that I can think of is that, as Doctor Who is from Paisley the other patients are falling into ... em, sorry, that was a different string.

Don't panic.

andrew

[Matthew_]

That would imply that most of the patients Dr Who took with him had eye problems; he could create an alternate reality full of people bumping into door frames. They probably cannot see the Tardis to get back!

[Andrew MacLean]

Ahha Matthew I think you have spotted the flaw in my argument.

David Tennant may be from Paisley, but Dr Who is from Gallifrey.

the universe is a big place in which to be short sighted

[BusyLizzy]

Thank you for you reassurance, Andrew.

I was beginning to wonder whether there was something going on I don't know about.

Now I'm wondering if it's to do with NHS targets and budget and the insanity of all that. Doesn't bear thinking about, really.

Matthew, I get to the RAH via three trains and a bus (and the same back again). I have to change at Partick, then get a train to Central, then another train to Paisley Gilmour Street. From Paisley I catch a bus under the bridge to the RAH.
It takes two-and-a-half hours to get there.

I guess it would be far more straighforward to go to Gartnavel/Western Infirmary, but I was referred to RAH, and I'd have to go on a 4-7 months waiting list and forfeit my place at Paisley to do that.

[Matthew_]

Hmmm! Difficult. I was thought to have KC back in November by my optician but she cannot diagnose, so I was referred and diagnosed earlier in the year. I am still waiting for my first lens fitting (2 Oct), so that is nearly a year from initial suspicion of KC to actually doing something about it. In that time, my left eye has gone from 6/18 to 6/36. So I can relate to frustration of waiting. That said, that is a serious trek into RAH! It also sounds from your other thread that RAH is not giving the same kind of service as Gartnavel and if you are running out of lens options, Gartnavel might have to be the clinic of choice? Frustrating having to wait that long! Is it me, or there something very broken about the NHS in this area? It seems crazy that you have so many options in Gartnavel but not Paisley, just down the road. Why can't they just transport the lenses you need? It seems absolutely crazy to me!

[Andrew MacLean]

I remain a little surprised that Busy Lizzy is zoned for RAH. I'd have thought that Gartnavel would be nearer and easier.

(train to Hyndland and short walk through the hospital grounds to the main building. Climb to first floor and you are at the contact lens clinic.)

Why not ask for a transfer?

Andrew

[Matthew_]

Helensburgh and RAH seem to be linked. My wife was told that she could not get her pre-natal care in Helensburgh if she opted out of RAH for the birth of our son. I think Paisley is technically closer to Helensburgh, being close to the Erskine Bridge but Gartnavel is certainly a lot more accessible. The train runs straight into Hyndland as Andrew says. Whereas, Paisley, just like Glasgow Airport involves going into Glasgow first then getting another train back about a third of the way you have just come and then a bus trip, real pain!
I would definitely think Gartnavel is a lot easier if you are not driving.
The fact that Busy Lizzy is asking about lenses beyond those she has tried doesn't sound as good as Gartnavel either. I was told about a whole range of lenses as soon as I was diagnosed at Gartnavel. Even if it takes ages to swap over, I think it is worth thinking about seriously.

[Andrew MacLean]

Certainly my experience of the contact lens clinic at Gartnavel (and in the Eye Infirmary before it moved up to Gartnavel) is that the service is excellent.

I know that the Vale of Leven, Oban, Inverclyde and RAH used to be a NHS Hospital Trust, but I had nurtured the faint prejudice that all that had been swept away in the brave new world of devolved healthcare.

I know that I am not in her shoes, but if I were in Liz's place I'd be asking about a free transfer to Gartnavel. it has all the advantages: conveniently located for travel from helensburgh by train, state of the art ophthalmology service, excellent contact lens clinic, good local catering (it's just along the road from 1 Devonshire Gardens so if you happen to be there at lunch time you don't have to end up gnawing at your fist).

Andrew