Until my visit to the hospital last week, my next appointment was always made by presenting the appointment card to the receptionist after my consultation. Then, in discussion with me, the receptionist would arrange the time for the next appointment, book it into the computer database and write it on the appointment card. I would then go home, already knowing when my next appointment would be and that the time was convenient.
For some reason, it has now been decided (nobody is taking responsibility for this) that patients are no longer involved in the process. We hand over a piece of paper to the receptionist and go home to wait for an appointment to arrive in the post. When I protested, and asked how I was supposed to indicate that I would need an appointment early in the afternoon, the receptionist sighed ostentatiously and wrote "Would prefer early appointment" on the piece of paper I'd given her. Previously, all I'd had to do was inform the receptionist of my preference and she would give me the earliest available appointment. Now, I have to go home and wait to see if anyone has taken any notice of what I've asked for.
This morning, the appointment arrived, more than a week after my consultation. Fortunately, I have been given an early time. However, the whole process is so much less efficient than the previous arrangement, not to mention far more expensive, since postage now has to be paid by the hospital. And I though hospitals were short of cash... Silly me!
Of course, there's no guarantee that I'm going to go back for another consultation, particularly after last week's performance by the hospital staff. The appointment system seems to me to be simply another aspect of the growing disrespect shown by many medical personnel to patients, the people who pay their wages.
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