"Serious shorfalls in relation to the attendance of..."

Anything else?

I am a volunteer driver. I drove an 8o year old patient and his wife to Broomfield for pre-operation assessments.We arrived at Main Entrance and were directed by a member of staff to East Entrance (we should have gone to South), destination E346! No wheel chairs were available and since we all could walk (with difficulty) we set off. Having eventually arrived via 'miles of corridor and lift' to third floor, an empty wheel chair was spotted and taken. This helped the patient but not his wife. We next returned to ground floor for a blood test, then to floor 2 for ECG, finally back to my car after nearly three hours! Both patient, his wife and I were somewhat exhausted.

Broomfield is now vast, with miles of corridors. I suggest that your attendance notes to all patients should make reference to the distances between entrances and wards that may be involved, that ample wheel chairs be readily available and a phone number to ring if assistance with wheelchairs is require. Volunteer drivers are not required to wait. Many prefer to deliver, wait for a phone call and return to pick-up! I was given that choice by the patient but had I not stayed, the patient and his wife would have been stranded as the wife would not have been able to push her husband!