"Not enough appointments available in endocrinology"

I am under a consultant endocrinologist at this hospital.

I was waiting for an appointment in March and when I contacted the hospital to enquire why I had not received a date for my next appointment I was told that there was 'no clinic capacity'. I eventually saw the consultant towards the end of April.

He wanted to see me again in 4 weeks. Again I waited for an appointment. When I telephoned I was told that although he wanted to see me in 4 weeks, all the clinics were full and they could not book me.

Eventually, after pushing twice for an appointment, I now have one. By the time I see the consultant again it will be 12 weeks, not 4, since my previous appointment.

In the meantime I have seen the results of my blood tests via my GP and it is clear that I require treatment. However, as the consultant requested the tests, the GP will not prescribe, so I will have waited an extra 8 weeks for treatment, which is not acceptable.

The implication is that endocrinology services at this hospital are seriously over-subscribed. If I could I would go back to primary care, but unfortunately my issues are out of the scope of my GP so I have no choice but to carry on with the hospital.

What steps are being taken to improve the patient experience and in particular access to consultants?