"Appointments system"

Two different scenarios at dental hospital for my husband and new vic ophthalmic dept for myself.

Husband referred by dentist for biopsy s unusual mark on his palette. Eventually got first appointment 5pm and no-one on duty able to carry out procedure. Attended 10 days later for same and appointment made 4wks hence for result. Cancelled that morn as no results.

Next appointment 3wks later again cancelled same morn. 3 days later phone call to give all clear but asked to attend again to see consultant in ten days time. Seen by the understudy for five minutes to again be told all ok and to continue as normal with own dentist! If appointments section were up to speed with likely results an estimate could be given and appointment only made when received saving the nhs staff sitting with no patients and general disruption to all concerned as well as secretarial time and postage outlay.

Second occasion had similar problems for me at new vic ophthalmic clinic. My optician referred me for high pressure told up to 12wk wait. On wk 13 I phoned them and was not on list. Opticians then admitted they hadnt sent referral so not an nhs fault. Waited about another six weeks and booked a four day holiday. As fate would have it I received a letter the next day for my departure date. Phoned to apologise and reorganise even, on last minute cancellation as I live just 15mins away and am retired. In spite of me having my diary ready I was told they could not reschedule at a mutually convenient time over the phone and just to wait for another letter through the post.

No phone call re cancellation and another appointment 2wks later through the post I'm sure someone else must have cancelled in the intervening time which I could have filled by a simple phone call. So more nhs staff with no patients and more postage costs wasted.

We keep hearing about the cost of £135 per missed appointment but the same amount in reverse must be true of the appointment system. Luckily we both got the all clear and the staff when we saw them lovely but if the outcomes had been different a lot of unnecessary time lost in treatment costing even more to the nhs in the long term.

My gp and dentist both use an email alert system to remind me of appointments made in person or by phone so seems nhs could do the same at great saving while speeding up the system. Such a simple problem to solve and if you're serious about trying to safe money I suggest this is a good place to start.