Having checked my last appointment details from New Cross I find it has been nearly two months since I spoke to the jumped up jobsworth that answers the phone to change appointments. It really is looking like the silly cow just cancells anyone who cannot make the ir appointment without making any effort to allocated anew one thus I have written a mild rebuff to the hopital chairman, the Specialist I was seeing and the chiefe executive:
Mr David Orton
182 Wellingto Road
Bilston
WV14 6BD
01902 404561
10th June 2016 Hospital number: E74622
Reference: your letter dated 30/03/2016 Change of Appointment
Dear Sirs,
With reference to the above letter (received approximately a week before my scheduled outpatients appointment) I wish to register a complaint that I believe that because I found this new appointment unmanageable, I have been deleted from the outpatients list.
I telephoned the appointment staff (as instructed) on 01902 695100 over a period of approximately six hours, waiting only 8- 10 minutes on hold, and finally got a human response at 1045 hours 5th April 2016. From the outset things did not go well. Despite using the NATO phonic alphabet to state my patient number I was first identified as a completely different patient. This sorted, I was greeted with a belligerent attitude that made me feel it was almost unforgivable to be unavailable for any appointment issued, regardless of any mitigating circumstance outside of my death.
The lady I spoke to first instructed me that the clinic was only available on a Tuesday and that I should try to attend. I then informed her that the later time allotted for the replacement appointment was one that I could not make due to prior commitments and requested a re-scheduling of the appointment at an earlier time in the day. To which I was coldly informed that if I couldn’t attend at the scheduled time I would have to be “go back on the system”. A phrase I rather hopefully meant I would have a new appointment made, at an earlier time to suit, within the next few weeks. I replied that I expected this would be quicker than trying to contact the appointment office by phone and hung up.
Due to the long period of time that as passed since the above conversation, I have come to the conclusion that the woman concerned has deleted me from the hospital records, and her interpretation of ‘going back on the system’ was to start the whole process of being referred by my GP once again.
If this is indeed the case, what is the point of telephoning you that I am unable to attend? I am not happy with this situation but, it may explain why I have had no treatment in over twenty years of attending the Respiratory Centre (as mention to Dr Gulati on my last visit) as sooner or latter I end up with an appointment I am unable to attend and get cut out.
I really hope that I am mistaken and I will shortly receive a new appointment at a convenient time and can discuss treatment shortly. If I am right then there is something fundamentally wrong with the whole appointments system at New Cross Hospital.
I sincerely hope that somebody will take this letter seriously and sort out this problem before I am forced to take my complaint further.
Yours faithfully,
D J Orton
Copy to: Dr A Gulati
David Loughton CBE
Wellington Road Surgery, Bilston.