"I have no idea why it took a week for a letter to be delivered"

I have just received a letter for an appointment at the Crosshouse Hospital. I have regular appointments there which have always gone well, the appointment letters have arrived in good time and it all seems to work well. I cannot fault the treatment I have received.

However, the appointment letter I received today took me aback, it is dated 1/7/2016 and was received today 8/7/16. The letter states that if I have not contacted the hospital within 7 days of the date when the letter was sent they would assume I would attend the appointment.

What would happen if a person received the letter later than 7 days or were not able to contact the hospital on the day they received the letter. I could have been at work when the letter arrived and may not have been able to contact the hospital until the following day. The following day is a Saturday so may not have been able to change the date until the next working day taking it outside the 7 day period.

I have no idea why it took a week for a letter to be delivered.