GIC - no communications. Is this unusual?

[No username]

Hello everybody. I am a patient at the West London Gender Idenity Clinic in Hammersmith for about two years. They seem to be nice enough there, no big issues. However every time I been there the doctor I have an appointment with there says Yes I will write to your GP about such and such. And yes I'll mention this in the letter as well. And there ends up being a small number of items that they say they will write to my GP about.

However that's all that happens. Neither me nor my GP ever receive any letters at all following any appointments for about two years. Both of us find this very unusual as when I attend other specialists elsewhere in the NHS for other health issues it is standard practice for the consultant to write an update letter to the GP letting him know what happened and a copy is sent to me, standard practice within about a week of attending.

I checked with the GIC clinic last time I was there and they definitely have my correct home address and GP address. Why the lack of communication? This is just me? I don't want to make complaints as they have all been very nice, but no formal updates.

Worrying?

[Christine]

Your experience isn't unusual, I'm afraid: the Hammersmith clinic is absolutely notorious for its administration problems which have been a major source of frustration for patients going back years. My personal experience is that around 50% of correspondence is never sent, and the remainder typically takes about 6-12 weeks to be typed and posted.

So on the positive side, it's not just you: your experience is not at all atypical of a patient there. On the other hand, I'm not sure of a reliable means of getting correspondence delivered in either direction as they tend to lose printed material, faxes often don't find their recipient, phone messages aren't passed on and they don't "do" email. Even the door buzzer was out of action the first time I visited.

Answers on a postcard... just don't send it to CX.

[no username]

So what is the solution? My GP requires some information from the consultants as he knows nothing about gender reassignment. All of the GPs at my local GP surgery are new as the old practice that used to run the surgery and referred me to the West London GIC were disbanded. My new GP is requesting information as he has nothing from them so far and says he knows nothing about me, but both of us have drawn a blank in requesting details.

[Christine]

I'm afraid I'm not sure: hopefully one of the forum members more experienced with dealing with CX might have an idea. I think a fax may be a more reliable means of contact than a letter, and your GP may want to express their concern at the absence of communication: I did this myself which did seem to provoke a response, though it's hard to see whether or not it helped significantly in the longer term.

[no username]

My GP sent them a fax already.