"unable to get appointments"

I am currently, and have been for several years, registered under Haddington Hospital for an ongoing problem with my hands. Over the past couple of years, I have had to contact you in regard to missing appointments and you have been extremely helpful. Unfortunately, I am going through a bad experience yet and again and am looking for some further help and advice. Please see below –

After seeing a Registrar in February 2022 and then attending an MRI scan mid March 2022 I got a appointment with my doctor mid June for my results. I was informed that I definitely had rheumatoid arthritis and that I needed to be referred to the Western General Hospital. My doctor said that I should hear within two weeks and to save time arranged for me to have several vials of blood that day. Since then, I have heard nothing and one day last week I managed to telephone the rheumatoid department at the Western General Hospital and asked if they could give me an idea of when my appointment would be, I was in turn told that they had received no referral and that I should telephone my doctors secretary.

I telephoned and spoke to a nurse practitioner who informed me that my doctor was on holiday but would check through my file. I was then told that there was probably a delay with paperwork due to a) shortage of staff and b) that my doctor only worked at St Johns one day a week and their secretary was not full time. She did say, however, that she would email a note to them for when they were due to return from holiday. It is now four weeks since my appointment and the vials that were taken will now be of no use.

I would be happy to have waited, but as I was told I would be seen within a fortnight and the fact that it is affecting my work life balance I am disappointed. My CEO at work has told me to make sure I contact you, hence I would be grateful for anything you could do i.e. even it is just advising me of a timescale.

I look to any advice you can give me and look forward to hearing from you with your comments and hopefully a solution.