"Cannot book an appointment"

I’ve been trying and trying to get through to the Podiatry Service to make an appointment for a toe splint. I have called the number on the letter frequently only to be put on hold listening to music for 20 minutes at a time. I have tried on both my mobile phone and my house phone. Using the mobile means I can move around but it costs a lot, the house phone means I’m stuck in one place.

The appointment letter states that if I have not contacted the podiatry service in three weeks then I will be taken off the list and will have to go through the GP referral process all over again, even though I have not made contact because I cannot get through!

I’ve never known such a stupid system, I’m angry and frustrated. Surely it cannot be so difficult to make an appointment?

The phone message says that there are a high number of calls – if there are then why not put more people on the phones to answer them? It would even help if the message lets you know where in the queue you are – I cannot tell if I’m the 10th or 50th in the queue.