...to think this is malpractice?

why has the been to the doctor about this, I could get myself around on crutches as a 51year old with a torn meniscus, serious joint and tendon issues, fibromyalgia. There’s two sides to health, doing stuff for yourself is the first line, he needs to get himself sorted out if he can’t even get himself around

I'm sorry that you and your husband are going through is OP. I don't think there is anything abnormal or "malpractice" about the wait for surgery. That is just how what happens to non-life-threatening cases when the NHS is overstretched.

However I think you could definately go to your GP to get them to chase the referral as it seems like your husband's mobility with the crutches is significantly worse than they probably expected of a man who had hurt one leg and had crutches! Separately, he needs to be asking his GP for a referral, probably to neurology about the unsteadiness and inability to correct himself if he trips. That could be the start of something nasty - MS, Parkinson's, MD all spring to mind. Probably HOPEFULLY not that serious, but he needs a referral sooner rather than later.

Not malpractise, just the reality of the NHS in winter.

So a trauma nurse called, which means they are aware of him and gave him a ballpark on surgery. 111 might be able to get a doctor to call you back and provide a prescription for more painkillers.

If you can’t cope at home then I’d call back the trauma nurse and ask how to proceed.

If you are in England the nhs app might have some details in terms of letters / documents / results that might help, but he may not have a named doctor.

There’s also a case to be said that he’s been okay for months- years (!) being unsteady on his feet and now suddenly requires urgent treatment. He needs to see the GP about his proprioception.

⬆️ This.

I’m very surprised they sent home with fractures. Did he dislocate his knee joint or his knee cap?

There will be a list as long as your arm of cases waiting for theatre and they just have to prioritise who to bring in. That’s not malpractice, it’s just busy and the snow and ice will have made things busier. You can get more pain medication from the pharmacy.

If you can't get hold of a medical professional before his prescription runs out, you can get ibuprofen and 12.5mg codeine or co-codamol (paracetamol 500mg / codeine 8mg) over the counter from the pharmacy. That should manage his pain until you can get some help. Just make sure you read the labels re dosages, intervals, and duration (no more than 3 days).

Malpractice - no
Very busy period - yes

Winter pressures are high and many hospitals are declaring critical incidents at the moment (no beds). It's not right but it's the way it is after years and years of underfunding, rising costs, ageing population and staffing issues. So it's likely there was nowhere to admit him to and that's why he was sent home. It's not that unusual for trauma patients to not be allocated a consultant, you get whoever is on rotation for that day. It's about clinical priority, not allocated specialist. If you are concerned about your H's mobility, his safety and your ability to cope you need to push it with your GP or return to A&E. I'd also use this as an opportunity to illustrate the need for your DH to address his weakness issues, moving forward.

It will be a case of that they have more emergency cases to deal with thats why hes getting pushed back, its not malpractice. Its just the state of the nhs.

So why didnt they re-admit him then?

Why is he so weak, what age are we talking? When they spoke to you on the phone did they not give a rough timeframe, sometimes it isnt the next day and can take a few days to schedule but they should have advised you on that.
If you cant care for him and he cant get to the toilet dump him back at A&E