"Long wait in fracture clinic"

I visited the fracture clinic today. I was early arriving at 10.45 for 11.00 appointment, but in my head thought it might help. Not at all. I was kept waiting until 12.45. My questions are;

Why did I have to wait so long? 

Were there fewer consultants?

Did one/two not turn up?

What time did the one's who turned up start to see people?  If by 11 am they were already almost two hours behind schedule. 

Why wasn't I contacted to be alerted to allow me to adjust my visit and reduce congestion in that department? (Patients have to get on with their lives and get to work etc.)   

Mine wasn't even a serious problem, certainly not compared to those I was sitting with. If there had been a staffing problem a text could have avoided many people getting frustrated just like me. How does that make the department look in the eyes of your patients?

Observations over one and three quarter hours sat waiting;

Far too many staff wandering about with files, and even some one piece of paper. Surely there is still such a thing as best practice/computerisation?

There was far too much raucous chat and laughter for anyone to get the job done properly. This was also an irritation today, as it is on most of my visits to the hospital. Workers have to be able to network, I get that, but come on!

I am in my seventies and have worked for 51 years in commercial and industrial environments, and know from my experience that there was very little time for chit chat, or coffee/lunch breaks. So naturally when I see it in such abundance I begin to think perhaps work isn't getting done very effectively or efficiently.

Summary;

I suggest more staff training in customer care i.e. be more respectful around patients. There will be plenty of time at breaks/lunch/home travelling to offload their emotions and stories from last nights telly.

Also, all staff should be able to use their intelligence to know when to intervene and keep patients informed. Most people have mobiles now and so they should be used to maximum effect, especially when things aren't going well. In all my years in sales/customer retention I always kept my customers up to speed with issues. Best to give bad news than no news.

I think anyone in the NHS has to be praised for their commitment to our huge population, but must believe they can contribute more given the ability to use their initiative.