NHS Bureaucracy

[Tinygem]

I'm totally baffled by the inefficiency of the NHS at the moment, even though I'm a huge supporter.
I currently have a chronic pain issue which ultimately will only be resolved by surgery. My problems started at the end of last year but have worsened to the extent that I now struggle to walk and have constant pain.
My GP referred me to the musculoskeletal department in order to review my medication.
Subsequently three telephone appointments later, spanning weeks, I have been advised that they will write to my doctor and advise a change in medication. This is to be an actual letter, not an email so even further delays. I am then to contact my GP with a view to him prescribing the recommended medication.
It has taken around 5 weeks and three telephone appointments with different people to get to this point, when historically the GP would have just dealt with the prescription himself.
The online system had not been updated so x ray results and current medication details were either missing or incorrect.
The inefficiency and waste of resources is truly mind boggling.
Has anyone else experienced this kind of thing?
I wouldn't have believed this had I not experienced it myself.
In no way am I criticising the staff, they are truly professional but I fail to see how this is an effective use of resources.

Yes

It's normal

I'm disabled following an accident 10 years ago. It's a full time job keeping up with nhs admin and making sure stuff happens.

I've had the opposite experience - North Hampshire. I'm 3 years in to treatment for BC that involves six monthly appointments, blood tests, mammograms etc, plus had an extra op over the same period for something else hormone related.

The records have been updated correctly and all the appointments and calls are arranged by email or on-line. I occasionally get a back-up letter.

The two departments, and all three hospitals, and my GP talk to each other successfully.

I assume different trusts have different computer systems. Or possibly are at different stages of implementation.

I have the same problem. Multiple health issues and each department does not communicate with each other.
Worse is that even within one department orthopaedics the hip and spine teams also do not communicate. Has taken a year for the spine team to look at the same scan seen by the hip team at the request of the hip team. They are actually all on the same floor a few feet apart. I have had two appointments with the spine team who seemed unaware why I was there and the person I saw (specialist physio on triage) said he was not qualified to read a scan so then took another seven months to get someone who is able to read a scan to look at it.
In the meanwhile all treatment from the hip department is on hold because of this.
Then a consultant for one of my other health issues prescribed a medication. Wrote to gp telling them to issue a prescription. Gp refused to do so unless they saw me in person but said they had no appointments so couldn’t see me. Suggested I come and stand in line each day at the practice to see if I could get an appointment despite it being on my records that I am housebound. Eventually I had to get my consultant’s secretary to call gp and tell them their fortune and miraculously they were then able to find me a telephone appointment and issue the prescription.
It is madness.