"Misdiagnosed torn ACL and meniscal tear"

I had a knee injury playing sports (felt patella popping out and back in) and arrived the next morning to A&E. I couldn't walk and felt my knee was unstable and giving way but still I had to hop around on the healthy leg because nobody would bring me a wheelchair. I guess they were all already taken. When I had to go to x-ray which was quite far one of the nurses kindly offered a wheelchair to get me there.

When I was done, the wheelchair and the nurse were gone so I had to hop back to reception on one leg. This was extremely tiring and I suffered some hip pain the next few days from all the hopping during my 4.5 hour visit to A&E. No broken bones but they couldn't tell what was exactly wrong. I was encouraged to be active as soon as possible to avoid stiffness. I said so many times that my knee felt unstable and I felt it was gonna pop out again but I had the impression they thought I was just being "too sensitive to pain". I was given two crutches and they've booked me for an appointment at the Knee clinic 2 weeks later.

The doctor in the Knee clinic suspected possible LCL injury only. They booked me for an MRI scan. This was later rescheduled and I finally had my scan 2.5 months after my injury. I never received a follow up letter. I tried so many times ringing Orthopaedics department/Fracture clinic but without success. I didn't even know the name of the doctor who saw me in the Knee clinic. They had introduced themselves so quickly and I was not given contact details later on and their name hadn't appeared on any paperwork. I was reassured I will get the letter for my next appointment and I don't have to worry about it. Little did I know how difficult it would be to chase up my results and get the follow-up appointment.

So after all those unsuccessful attempts to get through to Fracture clinic, I started ringing x-ray department and was told the consultant got my results over a month ago and I should have had my follow up appointment by now. Which I hadn't. Then I was given some numbers to call which were out of date and I've spoken to different people before actually reaching the consultant's secretary. I was indeed supposed to be booked for a follow-up appointment already but for some reason, I wasn't and no one knew why.

So the next available appointment I was booked for was in over a month's time. This was because the consultant wasn't available. Apparently, I couldn't be referred to anyone else in the meantime as only the consultant in question could refer me to someone else. This is ridiculous.Why why couldn't patients automatically be referred to someone else when the consultant is not available?

My scan report showed I had a completely torn ACL and a meniscal tear, amongst others. You don't have to be an expert to see these were not small injuries and at that time six months had already passed post-injury before I even started to talk about any formal physio let alone actually doing it. I don't understand how could ACL injury be missed during the examination both in A&E and in the Knee clinic? I had a complete tear of the ACL and a damaged meniscus.

I'm just thinking what would happen if I hadn't made all those calls and tried chasing up my results? Would I ever get my appointment letter or just fall through the cracks of the system, left forgotten by the NHS?