"Still waiting for an appointment"

My child has had GI problems and has been under general paediatrics. There’ve been a few referrals to other departments, but the advice for the GI issues - after antihistamines, low dose PPI and otc meds didn’t help -  was to try a high dose PPI for around three months as this is what the gastroenterology department would do as a first treatment option given my child’s symptoms. If there was no improvement my child would then be referred to gastroenterology and would be seen quicker by them as there’s already been a first round of treatment.

My child took the high dose PPI; GI symptoms got slightly worse during that time. A referral to gastroenterology was finally made.

My child’s GI problems got worse after the referral was made and the general paediatrics consultant has been in touch by email and phone with a gastroenterology consultant on a number of occasions about the new symptoms and about getting an appointment for my child as the doctor was surprised that my child hadn’t been appointed yet.

The general paediatric consultant has now left and I was advised to check with the gastroenterology department myself about an appointment (NHS appointment letters have been lost in the post before so I usually phone appointment booking or the departments directly if I’m waiting on appointments).

When I phoned gastroenterology earlier this week, I was told the waiting list for routine appointments is 30+ weeks, and if the symptoms have changed/worsened since the original referral then my child would need a new referral. This was all news to me!!! At no point was this ever mentioned to me before!

I explained a couple of times that the gastroenterology consultant knows about my child, but the secretary said that they emailed this consultant and the consultant told them that a new referral is needed. The secretary also told me that they can’t discuss any medical/clinical issues with me. I would have to go back to the GP (who hasn't been involved in my child's care since June 22) or general paediatrics. 

I’m very upset about the lack of care and misinformation given by the gastroenterology department.

My child’s new general paediatrics consultant has kindly given me a phone appointment next week to discuss the gastro issues/referral.

In the meantime, my child is suffering from bad GI issues every single day and night…