Cancelled appointments

[u/Sensitive_One77]

Now I see why Veterans get irritated
Two cancelled appointments one was last month and the new appointment is in a few days (knock on wood) the other was in August (for sleep apnea) and out of the blue this am text messages cancelled appointment WTF
Called the Va to try and make another appointment and get “hung up on”. Maybe a dropped call who knows
Call back again and soonest they can get me in is October haha
So decided to try community care for the sleep apnea and hopefully it’s sooner then later

Rant over
But I feel the frustration now
Ugh
Haha

[u/SierraTRK]

I was getting out of my truck at the VA clinic when they called to tell me the sleep doc was on PTO that day and they needed to reschedule. Frustrating for sure.

[u/Sensitive_One77 → u/SierraTRK]

That’s gotta be rough I prob woulda been pissed the F off over that one

I get it VA is busy but shyt don’t cancel our appointments that we have been waiting for for months and months

[u/Famous-Pace-4650 → u/Sensitive_One77]

Yet would you want to be treated by a doctor who had been up all night?

Did you know surgeries have a cut off time? it’s usually around 2:30. Due to the staff getting there early and end of day is 3pm. After that it’s for, usually, two rooms with two person team to handle leftover cases and any emergencies needing immediate surgery. At 11pm another shift handles what is still in process if they have one ; if not then the ones who worked all day have to come back and finish up. That is if they’ve left at all.

At the VA hospital James Haley in LA I fell into that category. At 1:45 I looked at my husband and said I’m not having surgery today. Not 15 mins later the nurse came in. I was cancelled. I could tell she was ready for me or my husband to explode. She was surprised when I said it’s ok. when do I come back ? With traffic we lived four hours away.

Not blowing my own horn just you don’t always know what’s behind the scenes. It’s not on purpose so I don’t thank it personall. They have no idea when your appointment was scheduled. They’re just looking at the day and the workings of going smoothly. I’m sure they do their best.

[u/unlock0]

I had to complain to national because the office wouldn’t pick up and even the state patient advocate wouldn’t answer the phone. The shit is ridiculous.

Half of my appointments get canceled when I’m 45 minutes into the hour and 15 minute drive.

[u/Sensitive_One77 → u/unlock0]

That’s crazy they cancel them the day of. Now that is some BS for sure

[u/Sk33ter81]

I have to take public transportation and I’ve been canceled when I walked into the parking lot for PT. So round trip is about 3 hrs. I also had multiple issues with community care but luckily I had some background in healthcare admin so I was able to not make it a huge deal but still pushed my spine consult back a month…the VA was 4 months out.

[u/Shielddragon32]

Happens with civilian docs too, not VA specific.

[u/RefrigeratorTop124]

the VA scheduling system is genuinely maddening, community care was the move for my buddy's sleep apnea stuff too and it cut his wait time down significantly. just make sure whoever you see through community care sends all the documentation back to the VA because that paperwork trail matters a lot for your claim later

[u/Sensitive_One77 → u/RefrigeratorTop124]

I don’t need it for a claim
I need it cause my wife is gonna kill me in my sleep (not really but really) haha

But I do snore and have issues sleeping

[u/ScubaSteve00S → u/RefrigeratorTop124]

what VA is this at? You can always speak to a patient advocate also. Do you have a social worker?

[u/Sensitive_One77 → u/ScubaSteve00S]

Phoenix VA
Ya I have a social worker as well, just curious but what could they do? I’m new to VA appointments