Hi chickpea, thanks so much for responding so fast. I've had multiple polite conversations on the issue with him before & nothing ever changes. When action is agreed upon I fulfill my end (admittedly, I've often been tardy) but he has never upheld his, nor commented on the work sent (each time I chase him I get an 'I'll get back to you soon' response, followed by further silence.)
I've not been informed about my 2nd supervisor or their role, but I'll chase that up & see if they have advice - thanks for suggesting it. I'm getting the medical stuff together, but not really willing to pay the extension fees before knowing whether this situation will be resolved - do you think that's reasonable, or am I just making a rod for my own back?! I've lost ALL perspective on this issue now & have no idea whether I've got any legs to stand on.

Hi all, I could really do with some objective advice!
Here's my situation: I've been writing up my thesis over quite some time due to sporadic periods of absence regarding health concerns. My most recent deadline lapsed during a period of ill-health (exasperated by the writing-up process) and in applying for a retrospective extension the university have refused unless I provide further medical evidence, which is absolutely understandable. However, I have come to realise that the core issue lies with my supervisor. I have sent him in excess of 100,000 words of writing over a period of 14 months and received no comment or feedback on any of it. I've been soldiering on regardless, and only recently come to terms with how tough I'm finding finalising the project without direction (for all the usual reasons: 'I should be able to do this by myself,' 'he's probably just really busy,' 'I'm a nuisance,' 'my work probably isn't good enough for him to bother.'). I've asked for his help, even begged on occasion, with no response, sometimes for months at a time.
I had been friendly with my supervisor before my health issues surfaced and I'm reticent about filing a complaint against him, which is further fueled by my own insecurities and also a sense of responsibility for not addressing the issue earlier. Oh, and he's the head of the department which somewhat complicates matters! I could easily provide the medical documentation that the university are asking for, but I feel strongly that the issues with my supervisor won't be resolved if I take the 'easy' way out of the administrative situation.
Any advice would be warmly welcomed as I'm feeling somewhat stranded & really can't tell if I have a case for complaint, or even if complaining will resolve anything anyway. Thanks for listening.