An Oxford man is up in arms after an appointment for his mother to see an anaesthetist was cancelled despite her waiting more than a year for knee replacement.
Sonia Mace, 78, has been waiting for more than 66 weeks for a second knee replacement.
The Kidlington woman's son, Simon Mace, previously said he feels like his mother has been treated like a "patient number, not a human".
Oxford University Hospitals has apologised to the family and said staff are working hard to reduce waiting times.
Mrs Mace had an appointment with an anaesthetist in November last year at the Nuffield Orthopaedic Hospital, but is yet to hear the results of that meeting.
After Mr Mace submitted an official complaint to Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, an appointment with the anaesthetist was arranged for March 20.
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Speaking on March 20, Mr Mace said: “Mum is very frail and very anxious.
"We got to the hospital with the appointment letter for today and we were told he wasn’t there.
"The appointment was cancelled last week even though this was made as an effort to overcome the complaint and a lack of duty of care.
“Mum was not notified that today’s appointment was cancelled. She was beside herself. She’s fading fast and I’m now addressing a complaint again to them. This is just unbelievable.
“We are absolutely bewildered at the absolute incompetency and neglect at this appointment which was raised from a serious complaint.
“This is absolutely shocking that this is a complaint and nobody has followed my mum‘s appointment through to make sure she was addressed, seen, reassured and of course made aware that the appointment wasn’t happening."
He added: “At this point my mother became extremely upset, distressed anxious and agitated and generally exhausted. She didn’t sleep last night with the anxiety of today.
"We are now at a loss what to do.”
Mr Mace previously said: “My mum who really is suffering with absolute intense anxiety and stress with the worry of this entire situation which has been escalated to a very difficult experience.
“It does make me wonder if I have not complained, what would’ve been happening? How long would we have waited and who would’ve really pulled this together?”
Felicity Taylor-Drewe, chief operating officer at OUH, said: “We understand how distressing it can be to have a long wait for surgery, and we’re sorry for any worry or inconvenience caused to Ms Mace and her son.
“Our teams are currently working hard to bring down our waiting times for treatment, including providing additional sessions during the week, running additional clinics and operating lists, and offering patients treatment options at nearby providers if this is what they would prefer.”
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