"Waiting times - Sanderson Suite"

My appointment letter stated my admission time to be 12.00 'please note this is your admission time, not your procedure time'. No indication was given of the likely time I would spend at the hospital. On arrival I was informed it could be up to 6 hours, this without any warning whatsoever. My wife had accompanied me in case of the need for a second driver on the way home - some 25 miles away. She was appalled at the prospect of having to hang around for such a long time (she is over 80 years of age). It soon became apparent to me that the minimum time I would spend would be 3 hours. The doctor did not come on duty until 1pm and the theatre did not open until 2pm. Add on the time in theatre, post operation resting and preparation of discharge papers another 1 hour and the earliest discharge is 3pm and that is if you are first on the list. I am aware that accurate timescales cannot be given but please, please give some indication. As I have shown there must be a minimum of 3 hours so why not state that on the admission letter? Appropriate measures can then be taken by those who accompany the patient. I have only praise for the staff who were most helpful and considerate - with the exception of the person on reception who was quite brusque and showed no sympathy - it seems she believed that I should have expected the delay, which I didn't as my wife had similar surgery but more complex surgery at Whiston Hospital with next to no delay. It doesn't take a genius to add a note on the admission letter that the minimum time will be 3 hours with some indication of the average. Think about your customers and their families. Communication is so important and avoids all sorts of problems.