Manawatu Standard

Hospital appointmen­ts lost in the mail

- Paul Mitchell paul.mitchell@stuff.co.nz

Manawatu¯ and Tararua patients are missing medical appointmen­ts or are having to scramble to make them at the last minute as notificati­ons sent by post fail to turn up on time, if at all.

Earlier this week, a Woodville mother posted a complaint on social media about receiving a notificati­on for her son’s appointmen­t with a Palmerston North Hospital pediatrici­an a week after the date had been and gone.

And it turns out she’s not alone and others around the region are coming forward with similar tales, although the company that delivers hospital mail says it hasn’t heard of any problems.

Denise Quinney said it was ridiculous and potentiall­y dangerous such important mail couldn’t be delivered on time, when it was sent weeks in advance.

Her 11-year-old son Bronson has attended annual pediatric appointmen­ts since he started having problems with his kidneys when he was 2.

They’re important check-ups to make sure his health isn’t deteriorat­ing and to monitor his ADHD medication, making sure the dosage is effective and not interferin­g with his other treatments.

Bronson might have missed it this year if a Palmerston North Hospital pediatrici­an hadn’t called his mum to confirm the appointmen­t at the Pahı¯atua outpatient clinic.

Quinney said they’d apparently missed an appointmen­t in December and been reschedule­d for Friday last week, but no notices had arrived in the post.

‘‘They were surprised I didn’t know anything about it ... Then [this Thursday] the letter about the reschedule­d appointmen­t finally showed up. It’s beyond a joke.’’

Brendon Mcavoy is having the same problem.

He has advanced skin cancer and since his diagnosis in May he regularly travels to Palmerston North Hospital for consultati­ons and surgical appointmen­ts.

Recently, he came all the way over the Saddle Rd to have tumours on his forehead removed, only for hospital staff to express surprise he’d come in – his surgery had been postponed.

When he got home, he found the hospital’s letter informing him of the changed date was finally delivered while he’d been in Palmerston North.

‘‘That’s a serious problem. Not getting the right dates could severely prolong my treatment and be seriously bad for my health.’’

It can take months to reschedule a surgery and every missed appointmen­t meant somebody else who needed an operation wasn’t able to get in sooner, he said.

He’d been the victim of late or last-minute delivery of the notices several times.

‘‘In October, the notice arrived the day before the hospital had me booked for surgery. But it was sent out at the end of September, three weeks before that.

‘‘[The hospital uses] DX Mail because it’s supposed to be quicker than the regular mail, but it’s very slow over here.’’

The Midcentral District Health Board is looking into the mail problem and is expected to make a statement early next week.

DX Mail general manager Ben Fitzpatric­k said the company wasn’t aware of any delivery problems in Manawatu¯ or Tararua, but will investigat­e delays brought to its attention. To do so, the firm needs to see a copy of the late letter’s envelope to examine the postmarks and the intended address.

The company delivers mail directly in Palmerston North, Feilding, Levin and Dannevirke, but sends deliveries outside those areas through NZ Post, he said.

‘‘ They were surprised anything about it... I didn’t know Then[ this thursday] the letter about the appointmen­t finally reschedule­d showedup.it’s beyond a joke.’’

DENISE QUINNEY

 ?? DAVID UNWIN/STUFF ?? Dannevirke cancer patient Brendon Mcavoy says missing hard-to-schedule surgery appointmen­ts could seriously affect his health, but he can’t rely on Palmerston North Hospital’s mailed notices to know when they are.
DAVID UNWIN/STUFF Dannevirke cancer patient Brendon Mcavoy says missing hard-to-schedule surgery appointmen­ts could seriously affect his health, but he can’t rely on Palmerston North Hospital’s mailed notices to know when they are.

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