"Postponement of follow up appointment for years"

At the beginning of 2023 I was assigned an ENT appointment at Princess Alexandra Hospital in Harlow, as I had a few ongoing medical concerns to discuss (deviated nasal septum and tonsil stones, mainly). I was able to see an ENT doctor in January 2023. The doctor saw me and told me that we would have been able to discuss only one medical concern in that circumstance, so I picked the deviated nasal septum as it seemed the most pressing to me, back then. They prescribed me nasal drops to have a little trial for 3 months, and check if the quantity of phlegm in my nose would have gotten better. I was given right on the spot a follow up appointment for three months later, in April 2023.

After that, a series of cancellations started. The follow appointment date became August, then January, then August, in an infinite procession that is still going on these days, as we speak. I believe this appointment has now been postponed six times, one of which was my responsibility as on one of the ever-changing dates I would have been unavailable for an unmovable work commitment (to be fair, though, it becomes impossible to get organised and accommodate any date you are assigned, if statistically they keep changing every few months).

I was lucky enough to get a permanent job in a new workplace in February 2023, and this gave me rights to have private medical cover. I did not revert to that service immediately, though, because I kept being hopeful that eventually the NHS would have been able to guarantee me the follow up appointment that I was initially promised in April 2023. In the past two years, my tonsil stones and recurring tonsillitis problem got considerably worse. When I realised that my follow up appointment would have still taken months, if not years, to actually take place, I decided to revert to my private medical care provider in May this year. After all, if it was possible to only discuss one concern at a time, and the deviated nasal septum alone was taking years for a follow up appointment, I thought that I would have not stood a chance to be seen for something else.

So, I saw another ENT doctor privately in May. I think my one was the right call: just a couple of weeks ago I received yet another communication of my appointment being pushed out (I think for the sixth time in a row), this time not 5-6 months ahead, luckily, but ironically it has been scheduled for when actually just the day before I will go through a tonsillectomy, as the doctor that I have seen privately strongly suggested that option for me and I have been referred for surgery in the meanwhile, so everything has been sorted out.

I can understand that things are not easy right now and the NHS is navigating unprecedented busy times; however, I still find ridiculous that a follow up appointment that should have taken place in April 2023, for a feedback about a treatment done between January and April 2023 and to explore alternative options, would still be pending in the second half of August 2025 (and given the precedents I would still believe that it had high chances to be moved to next year, who knows for how many times still). Honestly, if I saw the same ENT doctor again now after more than 2 years, I would not even remember the details of why the nasal drops did not work out. It would be hard to focus on the details of a treatment that took place two and a half years ago. 

I will call the booking team to inform them that an appointment is no longer needed. I just find sad that I had to revert to private medical care to make this happen, and I feel sad for patients who are not as fortunate as myself, to have treatment covered for almost fully by their workplace. I hope that this declaration can help patients in the same position and can support an in-depth evaluation of the system and how it can be improved. 

Thanks so much for your time.