"Outpatient appointments"

I have just received a letter inviting me to make an outpatients appointment. The final paragraph states that "If you do not contact us within one week of the date of this letter we will assume that you no longer need your appointment......". Fortunately I was at home when the letter was delivered but, particularly at this time of year, I could have been away on holiday for two or more weeks & by the time I returned home the one week notice period would have expired. The one week given to respond is far too short & should, in my opinion, be at least three weeks to allow for patients who are away from home for any reason. I trust you will review this with a view to offering a more reasonable notice period in future.