Not happy ICON.
I was having prostate cancer treatment at ICON Cancer Centre at Norwest. I must say that the staff there were magnificent...very caring, knowledgeable and empathetic. I cannot speak highly enough of their dedication.
Unfortunately, the management of ICON simply views patients as customers and as a source of income. This is despite their motto "BEST CARE POSSIBLE".
Prior to commencing radiotherapy, I had prostate surgery and there were complications. I lost part of my small bowel. I had previously lost part of my large bowel. This has made it essential for me to live my life in close proximity to toilets. The reason I chose ICON at Norwest was because it was a quick drive down the road from my house. As my radiation treatment progressed, it affected my remaining bowel and toileting became even more urgent.
As the Christmas holidays approached, someone in ICON management decided to cut costs by closing Norwest over the holiday period and shunting patients across to The San Hospital, which meant I would have a 25-30 minute drive instead of a 5 minute trip. The staff at Norwest were not responsible for this decision and they wanted Norwest to remain open for the good of their patients. I was already very stressed about the treatment and the need to face my mortality. Added to this, I was also having treatment for mental health issues. In fact, 3 days after my radiotherapy treatment ceased, I entered a psychiatric hospital for 3 weeks. I really didn't need the added stress in my life. Thank you, ICON, for helping to tip me over the edge.
The drive to the San each day was terrible with me having to stop at service stations along the way for toileting. I even had to bring a change of clothes for time when I had 'leakage'.
It's hard to deal with cancer, let alone the stress of daily treatment. Other patients that I came to know very well were equally unimpressed. We were left feeling that management had no idea how difficult our lives were.
The staff of Norwest were very understanding. They escalated my concerns to management. After 2 months, someone finally got back to me. She seemed genuinely concerned but she wasn't part of senior management. She could sense that I was still upset with management and suggested that I may want to speak with the CEO. I agreed that It would be good to speak to one of the bigger decision makers in the company. I was told to expect a phone call from him that day. Three days later and I am still waiting. BEST CARE POSSIBLE....hardly! Their motto is simply vacuous rhetoric. I had left a comment similar to this on the ICON Facebook page, but it seems to have been deleted...
