Complaint letter to Pulmonologist!

I have been wanting to write something to express my concerns...Here it is...I still need to proof read and make a few changes.

11.29.2010

Dear Dr. Thomas,



I am writing to address the concerns I have for my son, Cade Richard, who was your patient. I do this in hopes that it will affect your future practice, and more importantly so future patients will be provided with better care.

First off, just know that this letter is a result of the horrible service I have received from your staff, and not so much a complaint about you as a physician. Although, I do have to wonder how much you truly are concerned about your patients since I have yet to receive a call back from my most recent concern with Cade. I do understand that since the information has to be relayed to you through your nurses that it is very possible you may not even know about this concern.

I will recap briefly from the beginning. I called and left a message for Angie in regards to scheduling Cade for a sleep study. As you know, Cade has Prader-Willi Syndrome and is on Growth Hormones. It was very important to have his case looked at and a sleep study scheduled as soon as possible. I called about 2 weeks later and against her voicemail’s wishes, I left a second message in regard to setting up a sleep study for Cade. Another week’s time went by and no return call. I then called and asked to speak directly to her and eventually was able to speak to her. I was informed that Cade would need to have a consultation first to determine a few things before we could set up the sleep study. All of that was fine and I was supposed to be hearing back “as soon as possible” after seeing where she could fit Cade in. Needless to say, another couple of weeks went by, more messages were left unreturned, and my child was not priority. Finally, I turned to my son’s specialist in Florida for help-since she referred me to your office. It was not until she called and spoke with Angie on two separate occasions that something was done. All together this took over 6 weeks to get a much needed appointment with you. Cade came in had his consultation and had his sleep study a couple weeks later along with a swallow study the following morning. We both know what those results showed.



Now, I will fast forward to my Florida trip to see Dr. Miller. We did a swallow study there that showed Cade did fine with Nectar. Still aspirated on thin, but showed no signs of aspiration with Nectar. I called the day after we got back, which was a Wednesday, to inform you and your nurses of the results of his swallow study. When the nurse (do not recall her name) called me back I explained the results and voiced my concern about removing his nasal tube to improve oral feedings. She said before anything could be done you all would need a faxed report of the study. Although Dr. Miller needed a result of the swallow study that was done at your office and she never received it, I immediately got the results from her faxed over. I checked to make sure it was received and was told it would be reviewed “as soon as possible.”I gave it 2 days before calling back that Friday to check on things. The weekend was approaching and I needed something done. In the meantime, Cade was severely congested and was refusing his bottles. You were also very persistent from the beginning to not have the nasal tube, therefore I thought results would be discussed and I would hear something very soon. Well, needless to say the nurse had left early and I was still left with concerns that were not addressed. It was at that time that I made the decision that I was done with your practice, and Cade would seek care elsewhere. It has been almost 4 weeks since I have called about this issue. I have still not received a call back letting me know when we can come in and get the tube removed. Well, I pulled his tube out myself. The fact that he would still have his tube in if I had not taken it upon myself to remove it is pathetic. In my opinion, but obviously not yours, my son is priority. The severity of his sleep/swallow study should have made him priority with you as well as your office. Cade needs the best possible care, and I will not settle for anything less when it comes to his medical needs.

Sincerely,

Maegan Richard