"Great gynaecology department but room for some..."

I have how visited the gynecology department on three occasions. I was attracted to the hospital because it had one or two "top" names in gynecology or so I had thought... I have seen the reviews left by other patients about waiting time for their appointments. However, I was fortunate to be seen at this hospital within reasonable waiting times and a nice and helpful appointments administrator had also fixed an appointment for me at the last minute on one occasion. The waiting area for outpatients is also most pleasant and I was even offered tea by staff during my first visit. I found the staff at reception to be friendly and the department does have a very "professional" and "compassionate" feel about it and I felt calm and confident to be in the care of this hospital. However, I did notice that on all three visits, most consultants were typically running 45mins to 1hr 15 mins late. Moreover, during my third visit the "top" consultant which I normally saw for my appointments "delegated" my appointment with them to a more "junior" member of the team at the last minute as the "top" consultant indicated that they needed to go off to surgery. Nice. This was also after I had waited 45 mins for my appointment with the "top" consultant and had taken time off work to attend the appointment with them. Although the "junior" consultant had actually turned out to be more helpful, down to earth and made more sense in terms of the medical advice being dispensed in comparison to the "top" consultant. The "top" consultant had also unfortunately not arranged for an MRI scan to be carried out at Queen Charlotte's during my first visit and effectively "passed the buck" on to St Mary's hospital which led to a two month delay in being properly diagnosed for my medical complaint and ultimately a prolonged wait on the nhs waiting list to receive medical treatment. This is certainly not consistant with a "top" class level of patient service. The advice of the "top" consultant on treatment options for my medical complaint was also a little "unconventional" to say the least as I had already carried out a bit of advance reading in preparation of my appointment on possible treatment options and was expecting something special in terms of their medical advice. However, it would simply be unfair to be too harsh about this department as on the whole it really does fare a lot better in comparison to other nhs hospitals. Patients seemed to be happy to be there and it was always pleasant to visit the department. It is clear that the hospital does have a tremendous amount of skills and expertise among its consultants to offer to female outpatients. However, "top" names do not always equate to a "top" level of patient service as I have learned over the summer so do be sure to choose the consultant responsible for your long term health and well-being most carefully. You owe this to yourself.