"Keep cancelling/changing appointments with no…"

I was referred to gastroenterology at Blakelands by my GP and have had three appointments cancelled in as many weeks. It appears their consultants are overbooked or NHS patients get inferior access to services.

The first appointment was booked for mid-afternoon on a working day, but the consultant decided to try their luck calling at around 11am instead so I missed all of their calls.

I called that afternoon for the receptionist to tell me the consultant tried but had to cancel my appointment with no reasons. She asked if I could do Friday to which I responded no as I’d be away and without phone signal. She agreed to make an appointment for another day a few weeks later.

Friday came and I eventually got signal in the evening to find loads of missed calls from the consultant, despite Friday not being my appointment.

I got to my actual 2nd appointment day and called the hospital a few hours ahead to confirm the appointment as I’d already been messed about, they had no idea who I was or about the appointment as it hadn’t been booked in.

I eventually arranged for an appointment a few days later (this evening) and 30 minutes ahead of the appointment it was cancelled yet again.

My fourth appointment attempt should be Monday evening (Friday now), let’s see what happens next. I’ve lost all confidence in this system because of this hospital, they are playing with people’s lives presumably picking profit over quality of access.

The bitter irony is that before I saw my referral here I was about to select a consultant here through my medical insurance, I’m left wondering if I would have got better care if I went private over the current care I’m getting as an NHS referral.

I’m sure their consultants and medical staff are amazing as the reviews suggest, but I won’t experience that until they start making the care accessible.