"Distressing waiting time from diagnosis to operation"

I have a slipped disc or in today’s terms I have deep nerve root pain. Suffice to say that this is very painful whatever you call it. Having pain you would like to think that if a hospital is able to relive it through surgery, rather than heavy drug use, they would try to do it sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, the NOC does not see it that way, as my appointment for a pre-op visit is a full 2 months from the date the letter was sent to me and the operation date is another 3 weeks after that, with a recovery time of 4-6 weeks that will mean I would have been off work for 5 months.

Having inquired about going private, I discovered that from seeing the surgeon to getting back to work I would be looking at 8 weeks and making my bank account £8000 lighter - this is not an option. I telephoned the department today to see if there are any cancellations, but it seems I have to phone back tomorrow, as the department which I will be in the care of is part time?

This is not acceptable with extortionate waiting times. It is not acceptable that consultants are splitting their time between NHS and private practices. It is not acceptable that the department is part time.