No consultation pre hysterectomy

About 40 years ago I was told I needed a hysterectomy but after a consultation with the consultant's understudy when I asked a lot of questions it was agreed that it would not relieve my symptoms . I had endometriosis and the deposits were on my kidneys so hormone therapy would " feed" my complaint. I have never had the operation . I wonder why you have not been involved in the decision and suggest you keep trying to get an appointment to discuss if you really need the operation.

Do talk to your GP. I had a procedure where the doc hardly said a word; the nurse doing my post-op check did not even speak English! I spoke to my GP and she had all the plans, notes and follow-up info sent to her; she assumed that I had also been given it.

They are desperately trying to get waiting lists down, so the surgeon is busy doing rather than informing and it does look as if his team have let you slip through the net.

It would seem as if you are urgent BUT surgeons often see primary solution as surgery, so you do need to be given the options

Consent will
All be done on the day so will be discussed then
There’s no option really to choose your surgeon in the NHS so unless you go private you get what you get.
Waiting lists/increased demand/lack of staff/services/facilities are what causes this.

Have you tried to email their secretary? It's what I had to resort you when trying to contact a consultant recently.

Do you have access to the NHS app or similar where your records are held. It may be that the information is held on there and your questions are answered.

Thank you so much everyone for your replies and input. It’s been really helpful!
What is strange is that I also had an NHS op two months’ ago (gallbladder removal) and had a full consultation with the Consultant operating well beforehand which was both informative and reassuring.
I have this hysterectomy tomorrow and obviously won’t be able to give “informed consent” until I’ve spoken to someone in detail about exactly what the hysterectomy will comprise of, which may take some time……. I’ve tried to get in touch with the surgeon’s physician assistant, PALS etc but just impossible.
I’ve had friends who’ve had private work done by this surgeon who all report good things, plus met with a couple of women locally who’ve had work done by the same surgeon under NHS and it’s a bit of a different story. I just hope I’m doing the right thing by turning up for the operation tomorrow - but to say I’m nervous would be the understatement of the year…..

If you are not happy, you can, I believe, ask for a second opinion. However, I suspect the work of the surgeon didn't differ but the aftercare may have been worse where they are so overworked.
Whatever you decide to do, I wish you the best of luck.