Is this acceptable re appointments?

[drivemissdaisy]

I had a referral to a consultant from my gp a couple of months back for some non urgent elective surgery. I have since had at least 4 different appointment letters changing the date and time, appointment was originally supposed to be in December. then January, then moved to April, then a different date in January and now February . Aibu to be starting to get a bit annoyed that I keep booking time off work and then having to repeatedly go back and change it?

Yea it's a pain in the arse, yet you are only able to cancel twice before they send you back.

It is frustrating but it’s because the NHS and Sociak Care is so underfunded and understaffed at the moment.
Elective surgery is having to get bumped because of emergency patients ‘blocking beds’ and because of general staffing shortages which mean that wards and theatres can’t operate at full capacity.

Yanbu. That's a piss take.

The appointment is just to meet with the consultant to discuss the issue/ confirm I need the surgery, not even a surgery date. I think i might call them today and ask what's going on and if it's likely to change again.

it would have been moved later due to lack of space but hospitals also look for cancellations and ways to make the most of any spare capacity that pops up which is probably why it was moved back when a space popped up.
They will be trying to fit you in as soon as physically possible which is why the date keeps moving.
Yes it is very very annoying but the waiting list is such that they have to try to squeeze as much in as possible and that means moving stuff around sometimes.

I think I have been pretty patient so far, they also lost my referral once and then they referred me to the wrong place which was another wasted appointment and waste of my time. This has been going on since about last June!

Losing your referral is definitely rubbish and there is no harm in asking asking what is going on. I wonder if they are short staffed and trying to cover leave or illness? Either way it would be good for you to understand why you’re being messed about even if it doesn’t actually help in the short term.

Having worked in this area many hospitals clinics are a nightmare with more patients than they can reasonably manage. It's not right but this is pretty common.

I understand they are busy it's just the messing me about that is annoying. If they are busy I'd rather them give me an appointment further away and actually stick to it.

The folk who book the appointments are under a lot of pressure to "manage the clinics efficiently", which means trying to fill all possible spaces. In my experience I would normally phone the patient and ask if they would like to be seen earlier but maybe they are too time pressed to just change it and send a letter.

There is little room to consider anyone who needs time off work, childcare arranged, a family member needing time off work or other complex travel issues.

It's shit and I really feel for people just trying to get their health needs met