"Appalling service and extremely long waiting list"

I was referred to have my wisdom tooth removed in October 2014. It is now over a year later and my tooth has still not been removed. My dentist failed to send the referral letter for 4 months, which is not the fault of the Royal London, but their service levels and general incompetence have been atrocious.

My referral was received in March 2015 and my first appointment was in June. I arrived on time for my appointment only to wait for an hour before being seen. The consultant did not greet me when I entered the room and they were rude and came across as disinterested. I was sent for an X ray only to be told by the consultant that I would need another X ray and would have to wait 14 weeks for a follow up appointment.

I reiterated that I was in pain and would prefer to have the tooth removed as soon as possible and asked whether the X rays from my other wisdom extraction the previous year could be used instead which apparently was not possible. I had the second X ray in the same room as the first and what appeared to be the same machine. This took no more than 4 minutes so why I had to wait for 14 weeks is beyond me.

My follow up appointment was last month and I called today to find out the progress only to be told that they are currently booking patients for the new year. This means that I will have waited over 15 months to have a 30-minute tooth extraction.

This is in addition to spending a month in severe pain due to a blood clot last year because the A&E department did not carry out an essential and basic test.

It is a shame because I was born in this hospital and had great care as a child but the lack of service and extremely long waiting times has meant that I only have negative thoughts about this hospital.