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Poor communication

Posted By Jmatd64

"Poor communication"

About: Royal Hospital for Children and Young People (Edinburgh) / Ear, Nose & Throat

(as a parent/guardian),

I've just travelled to the Sick Kids, Edinburgh, for an appointment for my son in ENT audiology.  After waiting 20 mins I was advised to wait a little longer. After asking after half an hour the reception went to check to be told that the clinic had been cancelled.  I've taken time off work, my son has missed school, I've had childcare arranged for my other kids, my husband had to work from home. It is unfathomable that this can happen.  I phoned the ENT Secretary to be told that they'd just not phoned us. Again, unacceptable.  The stress, loss of work, travel expenses etc is just awful.

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Responses

Response from Mariska Vernon-Stroud, Patient Experience Team Lead, Patient Experience Team, NHS Lothian 2 weeks ago
Mariska Vernon-Stroud
Patient Experience Team Lead, Patient Experience Team,
NHS Lothian

I gather feedback from patients to recognise good practise and supporting improving services in NHS Lothian.

Submitted on 18/11/2025 at 12:44
Published on Care Opinion at 12:44

Dear Jmatd64,

Thank you for taking the time to share your story on Care Opinion. Firstly, can I give my sincere apologies for your experience. I understand the frustration, stress and upset you are experiencing especially having put in so many measures to ensure you and your son could attend the appointment. This is not the standard of care I wish anyone to experience.

As an organisation we value feedback so we can learn and improve the service we deliver. To be able to understand more fully what happened it would be really valuable to know the date, time and clinic you and your son were due to attend. This will enable me to pass you story on to the service, so they can identify where the breakdown occurred and put in the necessary actions to resolve the issue.

If you wish to remain anonymous, can I ask that you share your details with Care Opinion who will pass them onto myself. Otherwise, if you are agreeable to your name being shared can I ask you to email the Patient Experience Team with the details of the clinic and address it for my attention. You can email the team on LOTH.feedback@nhs.scot

Lastly, if you require any support finding out about next steps and an appointment, please let me know in your email and I will support linking in with the service.

Kind regards,

Mariska.

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