I'm following up a previous story.
This is the letter that I have sent to the complaints department at the hospital.
Dear Colleague,
I want to begin by thank the hospital very much for the long and detailed response to my first complaint.
I’m sorry to be complaining again, but I emphasise that I’m doing this in the hope that it might lead to improvements. I’m not unhappy with the care I have received. Here are my new complaints. 1.I was told to come for my operation on date xxxx. Originally I was told to come at 7.30 am, but then the time was switched to 11. I arrived at 11, but at about 12.30 we were told the staff would now take their lunch break. I finally received my operation at 3. Could it not have been possible to ask me to come at 1 or even 2? 2.This is trivial, but small things matter. When I arrived the receptionist was texting on their phone. They did not look up at me for a couple of minutes. The message sent by such behaviour is “You don’t matter. I’m the one in power.” 3.After the operation I was told I would need to be seen in two weeks. I was sent an appointment for date xxxx, for which I was grateful. A few days later I was sent another text saying my appointment would be on a later date. (As I’ve said before, every appointment I have had—perhaps 10—has been re-timed. It surely can’t be efficient for everything to be done twice.) I rang to say that I couldn’t make that date and that I’d been told I should be seen in two weeks. I was provisionally given an appointment for date xxxx, but the staff member I spoke to said they would put me through to a nurse who would tell me whether it was important for me to be seen within two weeks. The phone rang and rang, and after about five minutes I gave up. I’ve assumed that the appointment date/time given will be acceptable.I have been recommending to friends with eye problems that they avoid St Thomas’s and go to Moorfields, but it may be some comfort to you to know that a friend told me this morning that he has had similar experiences—of every appointment being postponed and long waits—at Moorfields. I’m sure that it must be possible to do better, and I know that NHS Improvement, the Health Foundation, and the Nuffield Trust have all done work on improving patient flow.
"Room for improvement in the eye department"
About: St Thomas' Hospital / Ophthalmology St Thomas' Hospital Ophthalmology SE1 7EH
Posted by J Ruskin (as ),
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