"Appointment cancelled twice then discharged"

Following an appointment in December 2016 after first suffering in July with what I didn't know at the time was 2 slipped discs, I attended an appointment at the Basil Samuel Outpatients Department.

During my consultation I was advised that in some cases, discs can improve and that an operation wouldn't be advised for anyone who hadn't been suffering for at least 9 months or so.

I was advised to try a course of nerve blocks and before leaving to make an appointment to re-attend the hospital in 6 months time.

Following an unsuccessful Lumber nerve block I was due to attend the Neurology Hospital in London on 13th June but 5 days before I received a telephone call asking if I had a copy of my MRI as the previous administrator hadn't verified the original images within the 2 week period resulting in them being deleted.

I gave the details of the hospital where they were initially carried out and3 days later received another call explaining that although a copy of my MRI had been successful, unfortunately due to lack of staff, the entire clinic had been cancelled but that a new appointment would be made for me to attend on the 27th of June. 5 days before this appointment I received a call just to re-confirm that I would be attending on the 27th and I double checked that the clinic would still be going ahead which was confirmed.

One day before my actual appointment I then received a telephone call stating that the consultant who I had now been assigned to had gone over my notes and discharged me.

I was absolutely gobsmacked - further to having 2 cancelled appointments they now see fit to discharge me following the only 1 consultation I had 6 months ago and following an unsuccessful lumber puncture which I haven't even been contacted to discuss the results.

On complaining to the administrator and going over what had occurred over the past 6 months I was then asked "why didn't you contact us to discuss why you'd been discharged then!"

Errrrm this is the discharge which up until now had not been brought to my attention and why would it seeing as I'd received x2 appointments which had both been cancelled due to lack of staff.

I have been told that a request will be put through to the Consultant who I have never met as the previous consultant no longer works at the hospital.

I have now raised this as a complaint with PALS and am determined to get to the bottom of why and how they can expect to treat patients in this shoddy manner, especially when they are still suffering but which has been ignored by the experts who are supposed to be advising us.