Our team are overwhelmed by requests to expedite hospital appointments. We are sorry but the WLMC Team can not change the waiting times at the hospitals and can not respond to the volume of requests we receive to do so.
You can contact the service provider you have been referred to but they will not be likely to be able to shorten the waits currently either, eg:
- For Hospitals contact that hospital’s department or PALS office
- NELFT Community services contact NELFT
- Some services do not publicise patient contact information
CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SOUTH HAVERING PCN ADVICE AND FOR A LETTER YOU CAN COMPLETE, ENDORSED BY THE PCN, TO CHASE YOUR HOSPITAL CARE
Contact Your Specialist Team:
You can contact your hospital specialists on any numbers they have given on their letters or you can contact the Hospital PALS service:
- WEB: www.bhrhospitals.nhs.uk/patient-advice-and-liaison-services
- EMAIL: [email protected]
- TELE: (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm)
- King George Hospital: 0208 970 8234.
- Queen’s Hospital: 01708 435 454.
- 24-hour helpline answerphone: 0800 389 8324.
CLICK HERE For the new North East London NHS website which aims to:
- Answer any questions you might have about your treatment
- Give guidance on current waiting times at your local hospital Trust
- Offer advice for staying well mentally and physically while you wait for your appointment
- Help you prepare for the procedure itself
- Direct you to local resources that you can use for extra support
To see the waiting times for your appointment at your hospital click here.
Please note that many of these referral times refer to the times AFTER you have been triaged by a triage service (outside of general practice). Triage services have waits too.
The NHS has set up triage services to review GP referrals before putting them forward to the appointment queues. This includes:
- Orthopaedics (joints and bones – surgery)
- Spinal & Neurosurgery
- Rheumatology (joints, bones, muscles & complex problems – non-surgery)
- Many of these have their own out-of-hospital clinics which may provide your care remotely or otherwise as they decide is best.
- Gastroenterology (gut)
- Ophthalmology (eyes)
- Ear, Nose & Throat
- Dermatology
The COVID 19 pandemic has meant that there are more people waiting for an operation or out patient appointment. This means that some people are waiting a long time for a hospital appointment or for treatment.
We know that it can be very difficult for many people who are waiting.
The NHS is working hard to see people as quickly as possible, but it is going to take a while before waiting times are back down to where they were before the COVID-19 pandemic began in the UK in early 2020. The backlog of appointments massively increased during the pandemic, and there has been reported progress in reducing waiting lists, the Outpatients Call Centre and Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) receive a lot of appointment enquiries.
If your condition deteriorates during the wait to become an emergency please contact the urgent care services including
- For mental health contact the crisis team on 0800 995 1000
- For physical urgent care needs contact our Urgent Treatment Centres or book a review via our care navigation team (but please note we can not shorten the appointment waits)
- If you are very unwell contact the emergency services
