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Great service from the consultant ..but... seriously ineffic...

Posted By Left the building

"Great service from the consultant ..but... seriously inefficient"

About: Crosshouse Hospital / Dermatology

(as the patient),

Arrived for a 10.45 appointment to be told the consultant was already at least an hour behind - even though it was fairly early in the day. Eventually invited in almost 90 minutes late. Then sent to another area to discover they were closed for lunch. The original area - who sent me there- said they didn't realise that as they had no idea how that area operated. It was suggested that, although they sent me there, I phone later to make an appointment - it seems there is no internal process for cross referral- and everything stops for lunch.

I had already rearranged two business appointments during my initial delay, so rearranged again and sat and waited to be seen. It seemed the course of least resistance.

My point is this - the consultant was excellent - the next professional I saw was excellent- but what an inefficient way to run a business. Please give people appointment windows that mean a consultant is not so far in arrears with their time so early in the day. It also shows respect to the patient.

Introduce a joined up internal cross referral system which offers a smooth, trouble and worry free transition for the patient. My morning and early afternoon could have been less frustrating if simple internal processes were evident. 

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Responses

Response from NHS Ayrshire and Arran 6 years ago
We are preparing to make a change
NHS Ayrshire and Arran

Submitted on 24/01/2018 at 12:59
Published on Care Opinion at 13:32

Dear Left the Building

Firstly, can I offer my sincere apologies for the clinic running late? The patients seen at the earlier appointments at clinic can sometimes be more complex than they appear which takes the Consultant more time which then has a knock on effect. I agree that the length of time of your delay was frustrating but glad that once you were seen that it was a positive consultation.

The current system of sending patients directly from clinic to Medical Photography is to eliminate the need for a return visit if this suits the patient. I would like to look into your experience of being sent to Medical Photography at the lunch time period to see if this was a one off due to exceptional circumstances or if this is a regular occurrence. I would be extremely grateful if you could contact me on 01563 827923 to allow me gain additional details so I can investigate this further in the hope that we can prevent this happening again.

Thank you for highlighting the issues you encountered, I will also review our systems to see if alterations can be made to ensure smoother running of our clinics.

Please be assured that your story will be shared with the wider team to improve the service and care we deliver.

Kind regards

Sandra Hanlon

Dermatology Senior Charge Nurse

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