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

[Beeches24]

I was due to have an appointment at 8.30am. I'm still waiting at 09.28am to be called.

I never have appointments so don't know what's usual. My anxiety (not the case for the appointment) seems to raise the longer I wait.

What's the longest you have waited to be called?

They do know I'm here before anyone asks and I can hear if they call me.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Very frustrating OP.

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

I hope all goes well from now on.

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.

Missed that - that sucks.

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

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

Update: not great news

Consultant scanned me so it wouldn't be a wasted journey.

Noticed an amniotic band. I've been referred to fetal medicine for more scans. I'm really scared.

I will be Consultant led going forward.

Not feeling great. I want a hug.

8am, seen just after 11. Consultant didn't arrive till gone 9

For pregnancy appointments I sometimes waited hours, which made sense as the consultant I was waiting for did get called into C Sections/issues during labour/mums with reduced movements who need enhanced checks etc and totally appreciate that comes before a scheduled appointment. It is annoying when it happens though, however the trade off was that when I was the one in labour, having issues, the consultant came running to help me and my baby and I was incredibly grateful for that.

It was ophthalmology where we had a long wait too. However the consultant is excellent so I'm not kicking up a fuss and risking getting someone else

3 hours in the maternity unit

Oh hun, sending a virtual hug. Try to stay calm, it could turn out to be nothing worrying. Have you got someone you can call to be with you?

Same. Except it was warm and I'd had no food or water for hours and walked in to my appointment and threw up all everywhere and then fainted

Over 2 hours - once I got in the clinic room I understood why - this is no word of a lie nor an exaggeration....

The consultant (who I was seeing for the first time) sat typing one key at a time on a computer well away from me while robotically asking me standard questions, not look at me nor interacting with me! There was a medical student in there too... who was observing- i was in there for 30 mins which was mainly spent with him typing with lots of awkward silences.

He was a hematology consultant at Addenbrooke's and was as cold and ice. I've never forgotten that!

1.75 hours for an annual monitoring appointment in a cardiac outpatient clinic for my adult son. Boiling hot day. No ventilation in the tiny waiting area. No updates from clinic staff as to how much longer the wait might be and no apology from the consultant for the clinic running late when finally called in.

At my gynae clinic appointments, if the clinic is running late the nurses will sometimes suggest going off for a coffee and they phone you when it's nearly time for you to be seen. I've also had apologies from clinic nurses for the delay and they have offered to make me a coffee.

2 hours for obstetrician 🫣 they blamed IT issues