"Very Poor...Not Happy"

Thank you for your feedback. I was sorry to read that you were dissatisfied with the appointment you attended. As a teaching hospital, care is delivered by a mix of staff at varying levels of training, but all are appropriately qualified to give the care they provide. Registrars are senior doctors in their own right, albeit still working towards their consultant position. They commonly see patients at outpatient clinics and where this happens, they are qualified to do so. Patients still have a named consultants who retain overall responsibility for their care and will provide guidance to registrars as appropriate. Consultants do see patients in outpatient clinics also, but tend to see the more complex cases. We cannot guarantee that a patient will see their named consultant in clinic but they will see a doctor suitably qualified to see them in that clinic. Patients may ask to speak to their consultant whilst in clinic but this would depend on the availability of the consultant. It is not correct that the registrar did not introduce themselves. It is expected that all staff, no matter what grade or specialty, introduce themselves to any patients they have contact with, so I apologise if this did not happen on this occasion. If you are to email PALS (PALS@srft.nhs.uk) we can look into this further for you. I would also like to look into your waiting time further. I am unable to explain how you were waiting 5 months to be seen as the current waiting time is 4-8 weeks for routine ENT appointments, depending on the named consultant. Again, I would urge you to contact PALS about this.