Patients: We’ll miss appointments
HOSPITAL patients say the rail strike could force them to cancel vital appointments.
Carole Railton, 71, who is recovering from long Covid, said she will struggle to make a consultation. ‘I’ve waited five months to see a cardiologist and the appointment is on Thursday,’ she said. ‘I’m obviously feeling frustrated.’
She said it usually takes half an hour to get to Homerton Hospital in east London on the train. The bus takes longer and is not a good option because her health means she cannot stand for long. Cancer survivor Garry Thomas,
0, is ‘livid’ because the strikes threaten an urgent appointment after he spotted a new lump on his neck.
He was due to travel from his home in Wye Valley, Herefordshire, to the Royal London Hospital on Thursday but will now have to drive down the night before. Mr Thomas, treated for Hodgkin lymphoma 20 years ago, accused the unions of playing ‘party politics’.
Consultant oncologist Robert Thomas warned the strikes will ‘lead to loss of lives’ among cancer patients.