Belvedere Clinic

Had breast augmentation in 2007 had problems with one breast right from the start, kept being told to give it time to heal etc. At time of first operation told an annual check-​up with my surgeon was covered in my original fee yet when it came to my annual check –up (approx year & half) was told my surgeon had left so unless there was a problem I didn’t need to be seen. I was still suffering with discomfort & had concerns however due to being ‘fobbed off’ so many times I didn’t want to make a fuss. The pain got worse to the point I couldn’t even stand under the shower as the water hitting my breast was too painful so I plucked up the courage to ask to be seen. As my surgeon had left I was seen by a Mr Khan in July 2009, he told me the pocket was too big for the size of implant used & it meant my implant had turned back to front. He was able to manually turn it back (not pleasant) & I left a happy women. Unfortunatley only four days later it turned over again so I went back to see Mr Khan where I was informed the only way to resolve the issue was too have an operation, the problem was the Belvedere could not find any of my previous notes so several options had to be discussed as the surgeon had no notes of which technique had been used & the technique I had asked for looked like that had not been done? I then spoke with the admin manager to discuss costs & they agreed to do the operation at a reduced cost however said that their theatres were undergoing refurbishment so I would need to wait until they were open which would be mid September. I agreed to this & waited for a date to come through nearer the time. September came still no letter I had to chase it up & was told the work was taking longer than expected & was given a provisional date of 2^nd November & told once the admin manger was back from leave I would receive a letter confirming this. Again no letter when I contacted them was told same story & told it would now be January! As any working mother will know needing to plan childcare & time off work isn’t easy at the best of times along with being in pain I was getting rather cheesed off by now. I had written to the management several times with the same story being given time after time. When end of December came & still no response I called again & now was told MARCH I couldn’t take this any longer & asked to speak to the manager. It was agreed I would pay extra money to have my operation done at another hospital they were using & was given a date for mid February. I had seen the surgeon on several occasions due to my missing notes each time I turned up they would start looking for them therefore delaying my appointment time & each time it was ‘sorry we can’t find them’. I had to take in my own paperwork for them to photocopy & even that had gone ‘astray’ at my next appointments! The only thing that stopped me just walking away from the Belvedere was I was very happy with my surgeon Mr Khan; he was very professional & is one of the top surgeons in this operation, as the revision surgery was going to be quite completed. I went for my pre-​op assessment the week before my planned op & saw my surgeon again to iron out any last minute details & all was fine. I then was asked to pay for my procedure in full which I did. The next day I wanted to speak to Mr khan so rang the Belvedere who refused to give me his number even though Mr Khan said I could contact him, eventually they gave me his secretary’s number. When I called her she informed me Mr Khan had left & was surprised the Belvedere had not informed me of this, when I rang them back & after giving me the run around all morning was told my op was still going ahead the next week with Mr Khan & that the manager would phone me that afternoon to confirm. This never happened despite me ringing several times & being promised I would get a call. Three days later & 4 days before my operation I managed to get hold of the manager to be told yes your surgeon has left & therefore they would have to look into another surgeon operating on me! I was not at all happy the operation I had waited nearly 8 months for was cancelled again & I didn’t want another surgeon. The problem was they had my money which I needed to be able to have my surgery elsewhere with the surgeon who I had paid for. I knew Mr Khan’s reason for leaving would not have been taken lightly but it was obvious the Belvedere had problems, the last day I was there there was a waiting room full of unhappy customers. I requested that my money be given back as they had not & could not deliver what I had paid for & this is the best bit THEY REFUSED TO GIVE ME ANY OF MY MONEY BACK & this decision came from the Directors. I am still awaiting an official response to my 5 page complaint & am in the process of complaining to the Care Quality Commissioners, I would advise anyone considering attending the Belvedere to look at their inspections done by the CQC on their web site it makes interesting reading