"Patience is a virtue"

'Good things come to he who waits' the saying goes - well, at the RSCH you wait, and wait, and wait, and wait, and ...

In fact I've been waiting one year now since my GP referred me on the 17th April 2018.

I was told today by Admissions when my orthopaedic operation was cancelled, yet again, that 'lots of people wait over a year' - so whatever you do, don't imagine that the NHS reassurances, reiterated on various sites, that they will aim to deal with your problem in 18 weeks from referral is anything but 'spin'.

My new proposed date of 20th May is 56 weeks from referral and I wait with baited breath to see if it actually happens then or if there is another cancellation. To be fair, when I had cancer the RSCH were absoutely superb, so I guess I've seen the best then, and maybe moving towards the worst on my second operation.

From a personal perspective sadly the lack of surgery has had a quite drastic effect on my life in that my mobility is now so limited I use a walking aid and have a parking disability badge, neither of which I needed a year ago and would not need now if I had been treated in a timely manner, and consequenty have become really unfit which at my age is very concerning.