"Great job in difficult circumstances "

I have just attended a special clinic at 1.20pm on Sunday. My previous visit to a Consultant was at 7pm on a Friday. The staff are working excessive hours just to ‘tread water’ because of understaffing for years & Covid.

They are doing a heroic job and, whilst my 2 month wait for surgery was stressful, it is through no fault of the dedicated staff and, people missing appointments just aggravate the situation.

I now have a 4 to 8 week wait for a Biopsy report because there is also a critical shortage of pathologists due to underfunding funding for a decade & Brexit so, although this will be another stressful wait, it is not the fault of the staff.

My surgery today was conducted promptly, efficiently & professionally and, l have nothing but sympathy & respect for all the Staff working in these extremely challenging conditions.

If l have one minor suggestion it is to recommend that Patients expectations are accurately managed during these difficult times. If ‘Fast Track’ is likely to mean a 2 month wait it is best to tell them upfront to save the stress of daily visits to the Letterbox to see if an appointment has come through. Admittedly this will mean an increased amount of initial abuse from a section of the Public but, IMO, it will save time and stress in the longer term.

Please keep doing what you are doing, the vast majority of the Public understand the difficult conditions you are working under. Thank you