"A waste of everybody's time..."

My son is experiencing painful hearing issues.

My GP will now not clear his ears, as they did early last year, because he is under 18 – something that wasn't an issue back then. The doctor said we should either use a private provider or get an appointment. We were happy to pay.

We then discovered that high street ear specialists will not do it either because of his age, so we were forced to get a referral. The earliest appointment we could get in December was today (13/03/2025) – a three-month wait. Knowing the NHS is under pressure (because it always is) and being sensible and respectful people, we were patient.

I took the morning off work (I work for myself, so apart from the loss of income, it was not a problem). We drove almost an hour to get to Bishop's Stortford from our home, travelling in rush hour to ensure we arrived early for our appointment. We arrived at 10 am for our 10:30 appointment.

We were then told it had been cancelled! No letter, no call, no text, no email – nothing. According to the receptionist, there was nothing we could do, and she had no idea what would happen next. She offered us the details for the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS)...great! When we eventually got through to them, they said they have had a lot of these cancellations, they don't know why but my son is still on the list! We have to wait to be contacted. They had no idea when that might be!!! No idea!

While this is classified as non-urgent, my son is in significant discomfort, so it is not fair on him either. The way we have been treated is as unbelievable as it is disrespectful. Apart from uneccessarily losing around £250 in income because of this debacle, my biggest issue is that noone takes responsibility. Someone's poor work standards or negligence must be causing these issues for us and others! I can only imagine how someone who has to use public transport or is old and vulnerable deals with this treatment. The inabiltiy to find anything out is just awful. I feel completely impotent in resolving this and franky appalled.

I also tried to contact the Trust via their published phone line, but it just rings and rings before eventually going to an answerphone - I have of course left a message but I am not holding much hope.

It feels like a lot of faceless people doing a poor job behind a wall of invisibility! They are an untouchable scurge fleecing the NHS.

What this poor review will do who knows...it'll probably never be seen by anyone willing to take their share of responsibilty.

I wish all those people struggling with this type of treament as we are, all the very best!

Strength, happiness and health to you all.