So I've had an intra abdominal cyst that's 15cm at its widest measurement for a long time now, and come June will be the anniversary of the first NHS imaging of it. I started seeing the doctor a year ago, and I've been waiting since then for surgery to remove it, which is going to be kinda invasive. So that's about a year from the initial GP visit. Still waiting, and funnily enough the BBC was reporting about two months ago on the horrible waiting times in Wales. The last I heard from the hospital was in January saying that my case had been bumped over from the General Surgeon in Cardiff University Hospital Wales to a "specialist" at the same hospital and I've not heard anything since.
Needless to say, the cyst is extremely uncomfortable, has a huge impact on my health (can't exercise) and every day life, and could damage my organs and is potentially life threatening, and it's been shown to be still growing.
How do I shake things up? I've heard that you can find an alternate place to receive treatment if things are going too slow and that there is a maximum waiting time from GP to surgery of like 26 weeks. It's been WAAAY over that. The problem is I'm not sure who to talk to at the hospital or what NHS department to issue a complaint in, or how to start requesting an alternate place where the waiting times aren't so atrocious. I'd like to actually get a job and start saving up for my second visa, but like I said, it's very uncomfortable (all the time) and many times very painful (often, and makes me feel extremely full when I eat anything), I feel like I have a baseball-filled water balloon slamming around inside.