To make a PALS complaint?

[everythingihave]

A year ago (to the day!) I was running when I took a step, felt a pop in my knee and immediate agony.

I went to an UTC who x-rayed it and said there was no bone damage. After a lot of back and forth with the doctors on call they said that there was nothing they could do, A&E at the “big” hospital wouldn’t accept me and it didn’t warrant an orthopaedic referral because it was probably just overuse.

I went back to my GP when it hadn’t improved in a month, I was told to self refer to physio.

I did that at the end of July last year. I had a video appointment in January, a face to face appointment in February, and was then referred to a specialist hip and knee physiotherapist. I have been waiting for that appointment since February. My referral was accepted on 28/02.

Every month, without fail, I get an appointment booked that is then cancelled because the “consultant isn’t available”. I have been told I will need an MRI, but that they will first do x-rays to determine if it’s arthritis.

It’s now the fourth instance of my appointment being cancelled. It hasn’t been rebooked for July yet, but I’ve gone private because I can’t wait any longer. I’ve bypassed the specialist, booked an MRI, and will go from there.

Would it be reasonable to complain in this situation?

Go ahead.
I hope the private physio helps.

It's wrong for this kind of treatment to be so rationed, but a friend-of-a-friend who is a physiotherapist once said to me that it's always worth doing physio privately if you can possibly afford it because the vast majority of cases that the NHS physiotherapists actually get to see have been massively complicated and exacerbated from the patient having lived with the pain for months and adapted their stance and use of other muscles putting everything out of alignment. A properly functioning NHS Physiotherapy Service would need to have sufficient resources to operate with waiting lists that are less than a week, but that will never happen due to the enormous backlog.

This means that only those with spare money can access timely treatment and that is wrong but it is what it is.

Anyone?

I feel like it would be justified, but also think that it’s kind of pointless now that I’ve gone private because my care won’t be under the NHS anymore

Yes I would complain. May not make any difference but complaints highlight issues and consequences. I have worked for the NHS for 27 years and wish more people would complain.

Yes this is a very good point too. If people were seen in a timely manner then the issues they dealt with wouldn’t be as bad!

Sadly I doubt if it would make any difference.

Unfortunately the NHS is run (wrongly) fit their convenience not yours.

A better system would allow you choice in your health care provider. Just like if you get bad service in Tesco you can go to Sainsbury's.

This is very shocking and also unsurprising sadly. By all means complain , at least it will add to the stats. The NHS in some areas is totally fucked, they don't have resources to help patients properly but instead of saying so, they string them along. I speak from bitter and current experience.

It’s not even that. It’s that it took so long (6 months) to get the initial video appointment and now I’m still waiting for the specialist. And, none of this time counts towards any eventual wait for surgery because the physio counts as “treatment”

I just don’t see that a consultant can be unavailable for so long and the clinic waiting list just builds up like this. It’s been since March.

All the while my pathway “clock” is stopped, because I’m technically being treated! It’s a joke

As a defender of the NHS usually, in this instance, you NEED to complain. Totally unacceptable.

I just feel really let down. I know it’s not that important in the grand scheme of things but I’m so worried it’s been worsened or exacerbated by delaying treatment.

Don’t feel bad for complaining. It can act in the departments and staffs favour. Eg. Maybe they don’t have enough staff. Maybe a manager is trying to get funding for more staff but is facing a brick wall. You put a complaint in. This adds to their case to get more staff. Everyone’s happy (well apart from the accountant!)

Yes, you should complain. It may actually give the department ammunition to request more staff if their stats get bad enough.

Complain.

My DP was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis last year and we've had four problems already either due to incompetent secretaries or incompetent consultant. We're not sure which. At a previous appointment consultant said she needed an urgent ultrasound. Heard nothing for ages so we chased up with the rheumatology dept. Said DP wasn't down for urgent, only routine, and it would be at least six months. An email to secretary got us a cancellation for tomorrow due to the notes staying it should be urgent. Previous to that the consultant wanted X tests and when DP went for them they had no record of two of them being required. As we're now on fourth error in the one dept we're making a complaint.

Sadly, I had to make a formal complaint a decade ago concerning the treatment and subsequent death of my grandmother at a different hospital.

My experience of the NHS is that some hospitals are truly excellent while others - or specific depts - are disaster zones, even sometimes despite being run by the same trust.

While we don't pay at the point of use we do pay for it through taxation and therefore we are customers. We'd complain about poor service from a garage; the NHS should be no different.

Sounds very similar to my experience. I suffered a knee injury last October when running. I’ve seen the GP 3 times, had a steroid jab and x ray which showed no bone/joint issues. She then referred me for an MRI which was rejected by the hospital and I’ve now been put on a physio waiting list. I’ve been told I’ll need to wait at least another 4 months for an appointment. Absolutely useless!
You should definitely complain. I’m going to.

I think I’ll put a complain in, I’m just not sure what the outcome I want is.

True but you can go to a different garage if you get bad service.

You can't with the NHS which is one of its main failings.

A system where there were a plethora of health care providers (like garages) all anxious for your custom, financed by a voucher type system paid through taxation (as in many other countries) would be far more effective.

Always complain.

a record needs to be built of how truly shit the NHS is.

a nothing will improve without complaints

thanks everyone. I’ll submit a complaint but I can’t see that it’ll be resolved

I’ve drafted the complaint but looking at it, it feels so naff and silly. Like I’ve not died or suffered any real harm so why should I complain?

I’d definitely complain. I’d also be asking why the person you originally saw didn’t refer you for an MRI? How will the physio know what they’re dealing with?! Sadly as others have said, your complaint is unlikely to have any outcome but the stats will be kept somewhere.

Glad you’re able to pay for private physio treatments. To be honest, the NHS physios I’ve seen have been pretty bad. Young inexperienced and not very effective. Not their fault but I’m convinced all the good physios have left the NHS as they know they see patients too late! It must be a soul
destroying job.

Apparently the pathway in the NHS for hip and knee physio goes like this:

video consultation

face to face with a general physio. You then get put onto “PIFU” which pauses your clock while you try the exercises.

You see a consultant physio. They send you for an xray to determine if it’s arthritis or not. Then if it’s not, they see you again and send you for an mri.

you then see them and they determine if they refer you to orthopaedics or not

I’ve paid for a private scan - not physio. I need a diagnosis for travel insurance 😭

I've just complained to PALS.

I started feeling unwell in autumn 2024 and was fobbed off with menopause.

An optician mentioned Sjogrens at an eye test in Jan 25 due to chronic dry eye and told me to make a GP appointment.

Went back to GP several times (again being fobbed off with it's just menopause) until they agreed to refer me to rheumatology for Sjogrens testing. The referral was done in August 2025. I wasn't given a choice of hospital and I assumed I'd be seen with 18 weeks as per the government guidelines.

I've been put down as routine and I'm still on the waiting list for an appointment. I recently rang the hospital to chase it up and I've been told it'll probably be another six months or so until I'm seen.

In the mean time, the dry eye and dry mouth have become so chronic, it's affecting my vision, speaking and eating. It's not like I can rest up as I need to use my eyes and mouth on a daily basis. I also have other symptoms such as joint pain, chronic fatigue, limb numbness that comes and goes and so on. It's really impacting my quality of life as I'm struggling to manage to do the stuff that needs doing every day like going to work and basic housework.

The GP won't investigate any other causes until Sjogrens is either diagnosed or ruled out, so I'm just left struggling with pain and discomfort until I see the rheumatologist.

If I could afford it, I would pay to go private.

It will also be worth contacting the consultants secretary and asking if they have a cancellation list that you can be put on if you have the availability to get there quick

It’s not worth it now I’ve paid for the private scan. All the consultant physio will do is send me for imaging. I need a diagnosis within 9 weeks for travel insurance - everything after that can come after