"Appointment administration"

I attended the Cardio Thoracic Department for an outpatient's appointment in Jan 2020 and was sent a follow up appointment for Jan 21st 2021. Yesterday ( January 14th 2021) as I hadn't heard anything since January 2020 and in view of the pandemic I emailed the department to enquire if the appointment was still 'live' or if it was to be a phone or video call. This morning I received a text confirming my appointment and asking me to check my letter to see if it had been changed to a phone or video call. This information wasn't on my letter as it preceded the pandemic, so I rang the help number given.

I explained this to the receptionist and after taking all my details, she confirmed that the named consultant had requested a face to face consultation with me and that she would get a secretary from that department to ring me to confirm it.

When the secretary rang me she was very apologetic and said the named consultant hadn't been at the hospital all last year and she couldn't understand why I had been given an appointment with him as all his clinics had been cancelled. I hadn't even seen him on my last visit.

I rang the Dept in September 2020 asking for the results of a CT scan I had in July 2020 and was told that the consultant wasn't there and that someone else would review the results and contact me. I have heard nothing from anyone. Today the secretary has assured me that someone will ring me with the results as soon as they are free.

I understand how incredibly busy the hospital is at this awful time and I am not complaining about any medical treatment I have received but really feel that bearing in mind the administration team have had a whole year to inform me that my appointment was cancelled they should have done so and that any outstanding paperwork/ reviews should have been attended to.

Had I listened to the 1st receptionist I would have travelled to the hospital and had a wasted journey - a round trip of 78 miles. Surely a simple text, phone call or letter during the year could have been sent? I hope no one else has had this experience.

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