Demand the next available appointment. Is the referral with orthopaedics or with physiotherapy? Contact whichever actually gave you the appointment. You should be squeezed in if your appointment is cancelled. Putting you onto the end of the list again is totally unacceptable. If this doesn't happen, complain to your GP. Change GPs immediately if they won't follow it up.
This is clearly an example of inserting a bottleneck into the patient care pathway ("patient care pathway" is the technical name for "you have to see X before you can have a Y"), and its sole purpose is to keep the surgeon's waiting lists short.
Make sure they know you know this, and make sure that they know you will raise hell about it.
Tell them that if they don't give you a new confirmed appointment over the phone then you'll report them to <insert NHS patients' groups here> for manipulating their waiting list lengths.
no subject
This is clearly an example of inserting a bottleneck into the patient care pathway ("patient care pathway" is the technical name for "you have to see X before you can have a Y"), and its sole purpose is to keep the surgeon's waiting lists short.
Make sure they know you know this, and make sure that they know you will raise hell about it.
Tell them that if they don't give you a new confirmed appointment over the phone then you'll report them to <insert NHS patients' groups here> for manipulating their waiting list lengths.