"No value placed on outpatients time"

Firstly, let me make it perfectly clear that I have nothing but gratitude and respect for the care I have received from all the Clinical Staff at the St Paul’s Eye Outpatients Unit. I couldn’t wish for better care from the Consultant and the whole team there.

My complaint is directed solely at whoever is responsible for the Appointments system in the Eye Unit. My recent appointment was for 10.00am on Friday 15 March 2019 and , as I was travelling by train and foot , I arrived in the unit a little early at approx 9.40am .Within a few minutes of checking in , I was taken away for a quick vision test and was then taken to a different area to await my turn to see the Consultant. So by 10.00am I was already seated in my 2nd waiting area and was told that I should wait there until I was called.

The waiting area I was seated in was just a windowless corridor with no mobile phone signal or internet connection and not even a TV screen to stare at. The notes on the reverse of the Appointment letter indicate that Patients should expect to be in the Department for up to 2 hours and this is what I expected and was prepared for. To cut a long story short , the 2 hours came and went , then 3 hours came and went and by that time I decided to ask if my file had maybe been mislaid or overlooked. I was then told that my file had not been mislaid, that the Clinic is always massively overbooked and that I would be seen shortly. I eventually saw the Consultant at 1.45pm - an unacceptable wait of 3 hours 45 minutes.

My question to the Appointments Manager is simply - do you really think that this is acceptable? Would you think it was acceptable if the Patient was your parent or grandparent? I will be 74 years old in early June and am diabetic. This is no way to treat anybody, no matter their age or health condition and I think you should urgently review your Appointments System so that incredibly long waits like this are ended.