"Ridiculous waiting times"

I had a scheduled first appointment at neurology for 3pm and arrived at 2. 45pm. There were families there who had been waiting over an hour and had appointment times half an hour before mine.

I have a number of co morbidities including gastro intestinal problems and asthma and cannot sit for long. The family who had a 2. 30pm appointment didn't get int to see the consultant until 3. 35pm and I knew then it would be past 4pm before it was my turn. As I was finding it difficult to sit and to breathe I left at 3. 35pm. Nobody came out at any time to let us know that there was a delay of how long we could expect to wait. The family sitting next to me who had been sitting for over an hour were very upset. Another family scheduled to see one of the consultants also went to see the nurse to see what was happening before I did.

No dignity and no respect for the patient. I understand that sometimes patients appointment times run over but this was ridiculous. If I could sit for that length of time I probably shouldn't have been attending neurology in the first place. The appointments system needs a complete overhaul with regular updates after, say 20 minutes if a patient is waiting more than this time after their scheduled appointment.