Hospital won’t rebook cancelled appointment, but I can’t complain

Use your connections and find a name of someone who works in bookings .. not a mailbox a name. Mail them, from your work mail, so they see you work at the hospital

You’re going to have to notify your travel insurers of your physio appointments that you’ve already had regardless as to whether the cancelled appointment is rebooked before your holiday or not. You could get an appointment next week but still not actually have the appointment until after your holiday.

I recently contacted PALS after something similar. They were absolutely useless and the matter still hasn’t been resolved. I was sent several follow up clinic appointments after a colonoscopy flagged up an issue (non-cancerous).

Each one was sent and then cancelled a few days later and this kept happening over the course of a few weeks until I finally received one that I was able to confirm and attend. When I attended the clinic on the day of the appointment there was no one there. Reception said the clinic had been cancelled, I should have had a letter and that they would send out another appointment.

I waited a couple of weeks and none came so I made a telephone appointment with my GP to try to sort it out. GP advised that shortly after the last appointment date they had received a letter from the hospital to say that I had failed to attend any of the appointments made and was being referred back into their care !! I was furious, as was the GP when I explained what had happened. I’ve been re-referred and am currently still waiting for an appointment.

My colonoscopy was as a result of being sent the home test. I attended the clinic appointment, was referred for further investigation, advised that there was an issue, but never actually got as far as having that issue sorted out. As far as I’m concerned the NHS isn’t fit for purpose.

And that's why you contact PALS!

Pals is for any kind of complaints or compliments@BiteSizedLife

1. Complain to PALs - regardless of whether you work for the NHS or not, you should have received an appointment and haven't so you have every right to complain.
2. Go and talk to the admin team. No they probably can't do anything but it doesn't hurt to try.
3. I would be wondering if something has gone wrong. You didn't get correctly on the system or an appointment has been made, but the notifications have gone wrong,

I’m a bit confused- surely you just wait for the next appt? Or are you asking for it to be expedited? Do you have a reason for it to be expedited or do you just want it sooner?

Have you tried leaving a voicemail because no one seems to answer the phone anymore.

As you are blocking every suggestion and saying that PALs does work to expedite these things in your hospital, the answer is obvious, isn't it?

OP didn’t say she thought patients who used PALS were difficult. She said she works in the hospital and doesn’t want her own case to be flagged via PALS.

I have this issue with the hospital I go to - consultant out patient line and admissions phone line rings out and then cuts out.

i get regular appointments that are always cancelled - my physio suspects that they are just put in and cancelled.

So frustrating - I did once contact Pals and stressed I was not complaining - just needed help.

They contacted the relevant department for me - it was not a 100 per cent success but they tried and said they were there for that sort of issue.

They did suggest a complaint but I did not want to go there as I did not want to be labelled a complainer.

I would try Pals

You could try a letter, stamp and post to the head of that department.

Your being ridiculous ask your colleagues for advice what they would do
they’ll all probably say contact pals

The physio building is a minute away. The team that book appointments for the hospital have been moved off site, away from everyone else. (Part of me suspects it’s because of staff who would go in and ask!)

If you're really that bothered, go to the physio building and talk to someone.

Honestly, you're being a bit slow in coming forward.

If they can't book the appts, they will at least listen to you and get the ball rolling.

OP, I hope you can get some priority, seems unfair if your appointment was cancelled through no fault on your part

But We get surgeries expedited by PALs complaints probably every other month. At our hospital, they just want to avoid anything bigger than a PALs, so they get it expedited seems unfair that people who complain get to queue jump, but those who wait patiently are penalised. Seems like rewarding bad behaviour

It's not special treatment. You're being a bit of a marytr.

You need to get control of this. It's an appt they cancelled and can't reinstate because of crap IT systems.

If you self referred for physio I don't quite understand how that works.

This is for NHS physio?

Just contact pals. That's the procedure, you've tried everything else. You are being a bit silly really, just use the system that's in place.

I deal with complaints and pals. We would never expedite something due to either. NHS complaints regs are also very clear that complaints should never form part of the clinical record so they do not negatively influence care.