What's the longest you waited to be called for an appointment in the hospital?

Even in the private sector I view eye clinic as a whole day event as there are so many waits between tests.

Eye clinic. Part of the issue for the long wait is because I have no diagnosis and have to have a load of tests before which are then looked by the consultant.

We were “first appointment of the day” for an outpatient appointment and the consultant rocked up 2 hours late on his bike. No apology

the nurses were SO apologetic i felt embarrassed for them. The waiting room was packed.

I've waited for hours past my appointment time for pregnancy consultants, but they were usually quite good at managing expectations when there were delays, and the one time I really had to leave for nursery pick up they prioritised my appointment.

My first appointment however, they had set it for the wrong clinic so I waited for ages only to be told I had to come back the week after (it was an hour away from me so huge pain to attend). The consultant was very apologetic about it though.

And for an asthma related test in a London hospital I had a similar experience as you: first appointment and the only technician able to turn on the machine rocked up nonchalantly 1.5h late. No one in the team knew where he was, why he was late or when he would arrived, apparently it was a recurring occurrence and we were just told to wait and he would show up eventually.

Another reason 1st appointment can run late is that all the clinicians have a meeting before clinic and nobody has considered that there isn't time to complete that meeting and walk over to clinic.

Or even more likely the clinicians have pointed this out repeatedly and told to lump it.

One thing that pisses me off are patients all given the same appointment time for the same consultant. Who they decide who is seen first?

The longest I had to wait to see my consultant for my eye condition was 3 hours. The department are sly by saying you seen on time as you get called up within 10 mins of your appointment time and get to do a vision and pressure check. As on the sheet to give to the reception team on leaving with instructions for when the next time should be to visit, has time seen by consultant at the time you had the tests! Even when my DF and myself see a consultant for a skin condition around the eyes, nothing to do with vision or pressure.

This particular time I was told to go to the photography room in the other eye department which is in the next building, which is joined to the other building. The photography team closed early that day due to sickness. I was told by the consultant that he can't progress with the appt as needs my latest results to compare with my previous. My DF was furious wasting an afternoon and had to come in the following week.

After that they put the slip to take to the photography room on top of my file. Plus now they have a photography room in both eye clinics now.

Not looking forward to this coming Tuesday as got a BCC needs further removal under the eyebrow and my appt time is 2:15pm. Had a biopsy in August and my first appointment they originally gave me was when I was on holiday last month.

Missed that - that sucks.

I would also consider a complaint in hope someone notices and makes sure if doesn't happen again.

4 hours 20 minutes - was at time for my then toddler.

We kept being moved to next waiting area I seem to remember three last one chair outside room and then finally we were next and we had someone whisked in in front of us and 20 minutes of hearing them chat longer than anyone else and not about injury.

My Dad had given us a lift was on medication and need regular meals was felling unwell car parking permit in hospital carpark was going to run out but Dad wouldn't leave us, my bf baby was at home with Mum and long past a feed so I was very uncomfortable and toddler who been good all morning had had enough.

I stopped a nurse explained all that and that we had to go - and no we couldn't wait she said give her one minute and she got an absolutely lovely consultant mid his packed lunch to have a look at case and discharge us - was in there less than 2 minutes though he was vey though and reassuring.

I've had other clinics be a few hours but that one really sticks in my mind.

Very frustrating OP.

But at least you know there is nothing serious to worry about.

I hope all goes well from now on.

Reasons that even the 1st appt can run late:

1. clinics are routinely at least double and probably triple booked. If you ask there will be a number of other people with the same appt time and another 3 that are 10 minutes later. If they didn't overbook the wait list would be even longer.
2. Commonly this is not the Drs only job and they will have already done a ward round of their inpatients before starting clinic if something goes wrong on the ward there will be delays

Far longer than that when I was pregnant. I'd have an appointment at 9am and if seen by 11 it was a good day! But probably because maternity is unpredictable.

Definitely up to 3 hours in orthopaedics. Worst in the skiing season. Any clinic that takes things that can’t be planned in advance.

Or is run by consultants and registrars who may be dealing with emergency surgical
patients in the wards before they come down to clinic.

But I have also been seen on the dot in an allergy testing clinic, physio etc.

I once waited the entire length of a clinic session to be told as they were packing up that the consultant was absent that day and my case was too complex for the remaining staff.

Oh sorry op, cross posted. Sorry that was the outcome. Hope you get the answers you need soon.

I would make a complaint. The consultant should have at least seen you just for making you wait that long. Ridiculous.

Couple of hours. Haematology first appointment. Turned out my consultant always overran, but he really was fantastic and spot on with his treatment plan. And he always took the time to answer my questions.
But all the clinics I have visited ( and I am old so get called to a lot of screening), have notices to ask you to notify reception if you are more than 20 minutes past time.

My GP surgery do this but consistently. Book an appointment for 8.30 then the non GP clinician walks in at 8.45 and doesn’t even apologise for the wait.

Its not as though we all have jobs to get back to.

Why don’t they make the appointments start at 8.45 ?!

2.5 hours. That was with the rheumatology consultant, who always over-runs.

If I'm seeing the rheumatology nurse, it's never more than a 10 minute wait.

A couple of weeks ago, I had an eye clinic appointment. I waited about 1.5 hours, but that was because reception hadn't told the nurse that I was in the waiting room. For the follow up appointment, I waited three minutes.

This is what takes the piss about the NHS. I was waiting for my 'first appointment of the day' consultant appointment during pregnancy only a couple of years ago now, half an hour passed my appointment time a dishevelled looking bloke rolls into the waiting area, headed out back and then another 25 mins later I got called for my appointment. The dishevelled man who I thought was perhaps a lost homeless person was in fact my consultant. I was so annoyed (and he was useless) I asked him directly why he was so late and that I'd waited 1 hour to see him meaning all his other appointments would be late that day too. He had no excuse but didn't realise I'd overheard him whilst the nurse checked my blood pressure etc telling him colleague about his 'heavy night out'. I refused to leave before getting a second opinion from another consultant (waited another 2 hours to see them) and then made a formal complaint about lack of care and him potentially still being under the influence at work. It was promptly swept under the rug of course but I was raging.

Some of the NHS is just brilliant with fantastic staff but many are underworked, overpaid and very complacent.

I think a few hours - I left as I had to go to work.

They seemed baffled that I would need to work my hours to be able to pay for food the following week and couldn’t just wait all day for them.

I’d walked 2 miles there and had to walk 2 miles back as I couldn’t even afford the bus fare.

4 hours once in an out patient clinic they routinely double book in the nhs

Around 2-3hrs with daughter at ENT appt.