"Spinal services"

I have read the complaint by Welshman and your replies in 2012 but it seems despite you saying you like to hear from patients with problems and that you work to fix these problems it seems that you are not doing this.

I have had a collapsing spine for several years and the NHS did nothing and it finally collapsed 9 months ago. The NHS response was to send me to a consultant who sent me for a very painful MRI scan and then refer me to a surgeon. The problems are that living on the Lincolnshire coast with not very good public transport services means that it is impossible to get to see the surgeon the other side of the county unless I stay away from home for a night due to no late running buses. The surgeon used to come to Skegness but due to your so called improvements in services this was cancelled. You refuse to supply hospital transport so please tell me how is this improving the service for patients on the coast?

I know that there are a lot more patients with the same problem here on the coast and it seems to me that if this is improving the services for patients it is only doing it for the patients to the west of the county at the expense of the patients to the east who you are effectively not treating at all through stealth. After the Welshman reported a similar problem in 2011 you have still not rectified the problem only made it worse and by saying you will restore the service in a few years time is rubbish.

As it is impossible for me to lie flat due to the pain I can not have my CT scans for possible cancer of the kidneys and so people could well be dying and are certainly not able to work due to your refusal to supply hospital treatment and consultations locally as per your contract with the patients that have paid into the system.