St. Vincents Turnaround - Cardiologist

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Hi,

I went to my GP last week as I've been experiencing palpitations, which have become more frequent. He advised that my heart rate was irregular when he listened and referred me to Vincents (public) to see a Cardiologist.

I received a letter on Wednesday advising that they received my referral letter, which will be triaged through their patient system and that I will receive an appointment in due course.

Giving the potential seriousness of the issue, I'm Keen to get things seen to and I'm just wondering if anyone has any idea how long I might be waiting?

I'm hoping that with it being the heart, it'll be a speedy process.

Has anyone here been through a similar process and can advise?

Simms

Best of luck with that. I was referred to Tallaght Hospital for serious eye issues after being diagnosed with Graves Disease. I submitted the referral in February, 2017 and am still waiting for an appointment.
Ended up going through the A+E Department at the Royal Victoria to get it sorted. The Consultant there told me that if I had left it any longer (four months) I would have incurred irrepairable damage to my vision.
If cost isn't an issue I would book an private appointment with a Cardiology consultant. Don't take a chance on the public system, it's an absolute shambles.

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Simms wrote: »

Best of luck with that. I was referred to Tallaght Hospital for serious eye issues after being diagnosed with Graves Disease. I submitted the referral in February, 2017 and am still waiting for an appointment.
Ended up going through the A+E Department at the Royal Victoria to get it sorted. The Consultant there told me that if I had left it any longer (four months) I would have incurred irrepairable damage to my vision.
If cost isn't an issue I would book an private appointment with a Cardiology consultant. Don't take a chance on the public system, it's an absolute shambles.

Jesus, that's shocking.

I had to get a scope recently through Vincents Public and have to say, I think I was seen within about 2 weeks after my GP referral.

They surely wouldn't leave me waiting 2 years for a heart issue

Simms

GooglePlus wrote: »

Jesus, that's shocking.

I had to get a scope recently through Vincents Public and have to say, I think I was seen within about 2 weeks after my GP referral.

They surely wouldn't leave me waiting 2 years for a heart issue

Not sure I'd be willing to take any chances with a heart issue. My GP is in Sandymount and any referrals I've had over the years have been to Vincent's.

The only reason I gave my referral into Tallaght was because I actually worked there and assumed I'd be seen more promptly. A bit naive of me perhaps.

I would imagine that Vincent's is a more efficient organisation (any place would be compared to Tallaght). Probably wouldn't hurt to give the Cardiology clinic a call to check your status on the wating list.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

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Simms wrote: »

Not sure I'd be willing to take any chances with a heart issue. My GP is in Sandymount and any referrals I've had over the years have been to Vincent's.

The only reason I gave my referral into Tallaght was because I actually worked there and assumed I'd be seen more promptly. A bit naive of me perhaps.

I would imagine that Vincent's is a more efficient organisation (any place would be compared to Tallaght). Probably wouldn't hurt to give the Cardiology clinic a call to check your status on the wating list.

Best of luck whatever you decide to do.

Thanks, hopefully it's something benign anyway.

I might give them a call tomorrow and see if they can give a timeframe. If it's too long, I'll just have to fork the cash together and go private, which the hospital would only love I'm sure.

GooglePlus

Hi,

Just to update on my situation for anyone who may be going down a similar road now or in the future.

So I was advised today that my GP referral letter was received and I am being recommended for an Echocardiogram. Great I thought, as the ball is now moving but I was then informed that my case has been marked as 'routine', which means I've an average of a 15 month waiting time to receive this scan.

Now I don't know how they have deemed a young man receiving palpitations as 'routine' but that's the bus i've now been thrown under.

I'm not sure what to do now but I've booked an appointment with my main GP (original referral was from a walk in clinic) as he managed to escalate things for me previously.

It's all just a bit shady, as nothing should be routine about this at all and I feel they're just coaxing people down the private road, which I can by no means afford.