"Return Waiting Times for Haematology Department"

I was diagnosed with CMML ( Blood Cancer) 3 years ago.I am lucky at present and only require iron tablets. However this disease can progress quickly so although on watch and wait I should have bloods checked and talk to a consultant every 3 months.I should attend the Haematology clinic at Raigmore hospital every 3 months. My appointments are mostly virtual which is fine by me given that each visit would be a 60 mile round trip. 1 week prior to the appointment I attend my GP to have bloods taken. My last appointment was in November 2021 so I should have had another one in February this year. They do seem to be short of consultants. I keep calling the secretary who just tells me to visit my GP is I am having issues. I am lucky as I know my way around the health system in Scotland having worked in it for many years. When I realised there would be an issue I asked my GP to take my bloods in order that I can keep an eye on them. They have been more than happy to do so which is great. On the last 2 occasions my haemoglobin has been under the normal albeit not significantly. After our call last week I decided to call the clinic again to ask if somebody could check my bloods results which the duty doctor did. The secretary called to say that I did not need any new treatment etc. To be honest I have been thinking about emailing the chief exec and copying in the health minister about the issue. I keep thinking there must be other patients out there who are getting no checks at all if they do not realise that Gps can check bloods. Then again why should they as that just increases their workload. Patients who only need virtual appointments could be dealt with by any consultant and not just those within their HB area. In my opinion, they could think out of the box. I appreciate that recruitment is difficult in this area so that makes it even more crucial that the managers look at innovative ways of resolving the issue as it is not going away in the foreseeable future.