"Need for improvement in the patient admissions procedure"

My husband was due to be admitted for surgery to remove a bowel cancer. The consultant and pre-admission department gave my husband a pre-admission pack with a time to call the ward at 2.00 pm crossed out and replaced with 11.00 - 12.00 noon. My husband called the ward at 11.15 am to be told the ward would ring him back shortly. Two hours later, after no call back, my husband again called the ward. The person on the ward said that nothing would be known before 3.00 pm. My husband informed the lady on the phone that we had also received a letter to arrive at the ward at 12.00 noon. The lady said that it was an "automated letter" and the bed management team would make a decision on whether my husband was admitted.

My husband has become distressed by the whole situation and it has made him very unwell.

1. If you know that the bed management team are going to make the decision on whether my husband was going to be admitted for an operation does the hospital write out a number of different times to call/arrive at the hospital?

2. Automated letters can be changed - computers cannot make decisions on their own so why are letters being sent out which the hospital knows to be factually incorrect?

3. The additional costs of I) pre-admission pack ii) automated letter and iii) time taken by ward staff taking calls from people trying to find out whether they can be admitted could be better directed into other services.

3. Does ABHB have any idea how stressed a person can become when being told he will be admitted unless there is a major incident only to be told on the phone that it's all down to the bed management team?

Absolutely dreadful treatment for my husband at the hands of ABHB.