"Dreadful service, support staff shortages = no..."

Failure to cover for staff who deal with referrals has left me waiting for an important scan, caused me terrible anxiety, having to chase many times for information, and having a referral made but then cancelled because Hampton Health made a mistake. I still have not heard when the referral will be made, as no one at the practice knows who is covering the referrals.

The details are: A nurse at Hampton Health referred me for a scan on a lump. A week later, I called to see if the referral had been made. Reception staff told me they didn't know. I asked who would know, and they replied that the one person dealing with referrals was on holiday, and there was no cover, so the referral had still not been actioned. To hear this when all sorts of things are running through your mind is simply horrible. I looked into going privately for the scan, but that required a GP to make the referral. So Hampton Health's failure to staff their surgery properly meant I could literally do nothing. Several more phone calls and still no referral, or even an indication of when someone would actually be able to look at the nurse's note. I eventually made an appointment with the same nurse, and asked her what was going on. I was promised she would look into it, and ask for the referral to be pushed through ASAP. I heard nothing, so I made another phone call, and got through to someone on reception who then said she would ask a GP to call me to discuss. The GP called later that day, and asked me to come and see him the following day. A referral was made, and I was promised a letter of confirmation. But, before that letter arrived, I got a phone call from the NHS saying that the referral to them and their scanning department was for something they could not provide, so the referral was cancelled. Back to square one, I called Hampton Heath to see what was going on, why a mistake had been made, and when I could expect a correct referral to be made for me. The person on the end of the phone said she didn't know when there would be cover for the person who deals with referrals again, and that she couldn't even get up and walk through to the back office to check because she was the only one at the reception desk. She told me there was once again nothing I could do other than wait. She said it might be the same day, it might be tomorrow, but no one knows who would be covering referrals or when.

So, Hampton Health are not able to cover absent staff, and they cause unnecessary anxiety to patients waiting for the next step in their treatment. Absolutely awful management of the service, and a disgusting way to treat patients who deserve a simple, straightforward and stress-free form of treatment.