Hi,
A family member has recently been told that they have Leukaemia (unsure which type) and have been referred to Haematology. However, she has now been waiting over a month for an appointment to come through and despite chasing, has just been told that she is on a waiting list. Is it normal to wait this long for an initial appointment?
Hi madasahatter and a warm welcome to this corner of the Community although I am always sorry to see you joining us and sorry to hear about your family members diagnosis.
I am Mike and I help out around our various Blood Cancer groups, I don't have Leukaemia but I have been on my incurable blood cancer (Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma) journey for over 23 years.
Haematology departments are very very busy places so it’s unfortunately not that unusual to hear about these waiting times at the moment.
I ‘think’ that the guidelines are no more than 2 months (62 days) wait between the date the hospital receives an urgent referral for suspected cancer and the start of treatment and no more than 31 days wait between the meeting at which a patient and their doctor agree a treatment plan and the start of treatment……. but even the guidelines are challenged at the moment..
I do hope that they get their appointment soon but keep pushing the system to see if there are any cancellations.
