"Appointment for OP clinic received after appointment."

My mother is suffering from neurological back and leg pain from her spine, enough to be disabling her movement, mobility and certainly quality of life. Her pain is very difficult to control and at present we are awaiting an outpatient appointment with the Neurosurgical department in the Southern General. Finally we received an appointment for 7 weeks after the date of referral. We would have been delighted at this if we hadn't received the letter the afternoon of the appointment date which was made for 11am that morning.

After speaking to the appointments department and the waiting list manager, we were told that the appointment had been verbally accepted 5 days previously. We question this documentation they have when there was nobody in the house the entire day to have picked up the phone, and the fact that when spoken to about the appointment on the following day, one member of staff spoke to us to say they called but did not get a reply.

How is it possible therefore that the appointments department have it in their documentation that the patients relative accepted the appointment by phone call?

I find it distressing that my mother is in pain and her quality of life is deteriorating. I find it infuriating that appointments come on or after the date of the appointment. However, to be told we are lying as they have it documented that we accepted the appointment by phone, is more than unacceptable.

We still have no appointment, despite asking. From our conversations, my mother feels like a CHI number and statistic rather than a patient whose life has been turned upside down by an ailment for which she is still seeking medical help.