I have had a prompt action following my contacting PALS due to lack of response but that was long before Covid. Also, on one occasion my treating hospital gave me appointments for two scans in different buildings at overlapping times and being nuclear scans I subsequently found out these scans should not even have been done on the same day. My belief is this happens due to the way appointments are requested and allocated. Consultants request a 'Booking Team' for Mr X to have a certain scan and depending on urgency, the Booking Team give an appointment (without checking anything else Mr X might have arranged at the time) with the coincidental result as above. By contrast, when I had my treatment in Germany, the nurse ascertained what scans and tests I needed and booked these for me so that they were done at appropriate times.
The situation has been made worse with a hold up in obtaining tracer for some scans, staff shortages due to staff absent being affected by Covid, and insufficient staff anyway plus other factors. I am currently awaiting a Colonoscopy at my local hospital in Devon which has been cancelled twice due to those involved coming down from London to do the procedure being unable to come due to rail strikes. The London staff come at weekends due to lack of local staff and long waiting lists.