Thread: hospital clinic waiting list

roughly about 2 months ago i went to my gp because i felt unwell.he gave me a sick note for work for a week.after a week i went back to my gp and he asked how i felt and took some tests.when he completed the tests he said he would have to refer me to hospital outpatient dept clinic the doctor gave me a sick note for a month.
about two weeks after i went to see consultant at hospital,and he then said he wanted some scans,so he gave me two cards to go and have these done.one i had done straight away the other the receptionist said there was a waiting list for,so i would receive a letter telling me when to go.after about another two weeks i got a letter telling me to go for this other scan at which time i thought i would be able to phone up for all results then if everything was ok i could then resume to normal life,but no that wasnt the case.
i phoned up for the results of these scans onle to be told i would have to be seen again by the consultant at hospital for the results.at that time the secretary made me an appointment.the appointment i got was about 10 weeks to get these scan results,which is ridiculous.i complained to secretary about this i have always got scans by phoning my gp for results.the receptionins told me i would have to be discharged by the consultant before i go back to work.
this is absolutly ridiculous.is there anywhere i can complain about hospital clinic waiting lists.

Hi. 10 weeks is a long time to wait for a follow up appointment, espcially if you have not already received treatment for your condition. When a GP refers a patient to a consultant in a hospital, they have 18 weeks to treat you for the condition. Generally speaking, they normally see new outpatients within 4 weeks, then if you are referred for diagnostic tests this will take approx another 4 weeks maximum and if they make a decision to treat your condition, they have another 10 weeks to admit you to hospital for the procedure. Every specialty is different and therefore they will deviate from the above timescales but they still have to treat you within 18 weeks. Can you confirm whether the consultant gave you any medication/injections and told you you the next steps? Please let me know and I will advise you of your next steps.

yes i suppose i could but he has alresdy told me he cant sign me back to work untill he gets the ok from hospital,which as i understand it going to take about three months,through no fault of my own.its outragious,because of having to wait for scan results.
is this what i have paid my national insurance for i have more than paid the required contrbutions for retirement and the nhs.

Unfortunately the wait time for reporting on scans can be very long, because the radiology dept. may be short-staffed/have a large backlog, etc. Not saying it's right, just that that's how it is. My dad had to wait almost 16 weeks for results of an MRI scan.

I hear what you're saying about NI/tax contributions too, but remember that a lot of people ahead of you in the queue to get results will also have paid their contributions, and have just as much right to get their results - I very much doubt you can jump the queue because of this!

The only thing you can do in this situation is call the consultant's secretary (just call the switchboard of the hospital in question and ask to be put through to Mr ........'s secretary) and ask for an appointment. Explain you can't go back to work until cleared by the consultant, and you really need to get back to work. Hopefully the secretary will be the helpful sort and will be able to do this for you.

If you are feeling fine in yourself you don't have to wait for your GP to sign you back to work, you can make the decision to return yourself. Obviously I don't know what your problem is but if you think you can cope with work then go back.