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A man has blasted the NHS after his 90-year-old mum was left in tears when her hospital appointment was cancelled because of the Queen’s funeral.
Some NHS appointments have been scrapped due to the newly scheduled bank holiday on Monday.
The sudden cancellations have caused outrage among some families – with many having already waited weeks to be seen due to long waiting lists.
Paul Patrick, 67, is furious after his mum, Ida, was left in tears when she received a phone call to say her hospital appointment was not going ahead as planned.
He was due to take her to Heartlands Hospital, Birmingham, West Midlands, for a follow-up after a recent hospital stay when she suffered weight loss and dehydration. The appointment was cancelled and not rescheduled.
Retired headteacher Paul , who lives in Belfast, Northern Ireland, but had travelled to Birmingham to help his mother with her hospital appointments – said: “My ma is very upset and I’m incandescent with rage.
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“Ma was admitted to hospital a few weeks back. They were very worried about her because she was losing weight and was dehydrated, so they had quite a quick follow-up for her on Monday.
“She’s been worrying about it for a long time. On Monday, I tried to phone to see if it was still going ahead, and yesterday, I was on the phone for 85 minutes waiting to get through and all they could say was they weren’t sure if it was being cancelled.”
There will be a national bank holiday on Monday to allow as many people as possible to watch the state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, many major retailers, as well as child care facilities, and companies, have said they will be closed, leading some to argue against the disruption.
“Ma was in a right state and then they phoned to say it was cancelled and they don’t know when it will be,” Paul continued. “She is devastated. She’s not in good health, she’s 90, she’s very, very frail, and not in a good frame of mind. My father died two years ago so she’s still mourning him too.
“It’s been traumatic for her. I’m not a monarchist, but my mother is, and I just think it’s appalling. These are vulnerable people and those appointments should be going ahead. I have friends who have cancer appointments cancelled for next Monday too.
“It’s about respect for people like my mother who have paid in all their lives and like the Royal family, yet they’re the victims on Monday.
“This is not respecting my mother – this is cancelling everything for protocol and there’s nothing that says that vulnerable people should suffer because of the protocol for a new King and the burial of a Queen.”
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