"Letter said day surgery, but signs said ambulatory care"

I accompanied my husband to day surgery today. His letter said ‘day surgery first floor’ so we looked around the lifts for a sign. A member of staff spotted us looking lost and offered help, pointed us to the correct lift. We still couldn’t see a sign for ‘day surgery’ though. Went up to the first floor.

Getting out of the lift we were near the restaurant. Still no sign for ‘day surgery’. It was only when we stopped to think what the sign for ‘ambulatory care’ might mean that we walked towards that area. Finally, a sign for ‘day surgery’!

My husband has never been in hospital in his life, he is not clinical. 

If you write ‘day surgery’ on your letters, there should be corresponding signage in the hospital, alternatively it would be helpful to write ‘ambulatory care’ on your letters out to patients to help people get to where they need to be.

I passed this on to reception as I left. They informed me that I am the first person who has ever struggled to find ‘day surgery’.

This feedback is mainly because it’s dementia awareness week. I struggled, my husband struggled, if you were someone with a learning difficulty, dyslexia or a dementia, I know you would not find day surgery.

Please improve at the very least the letter if not the signage. Simply write Ambulatory care/Day surgery. Match the words on the letter to the signposting in the hospital.