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Yet another cancelled appointment

Story from nhs.uk

"Yet another cancelled appointment"

About: St Richard's Hospital

I have had yet another canceled appointment for the Orthopedic surgeon , with less than 48 hours notice. I had a phone call on Sunday 10th April reminding me of my appointment on the 14th April and yesterday i received a letter dated Monday 11th April saying its canceled for the 3rd time ! There is no reason given just "unforeseen circumstances " Why not give the real reason ?? Is it because they give that appointment to someone on the waiting list ,is the surgeon on holiday ,or is it overbooked ???

I canceled a dentist anointment to go to this appointment ,and my partner had taken a day off work ,all that now is a waste of time.

It was made for the 2nd June and after phoning up i have got one for the 16th May , but i hold no hopes that it wont be canceled again !

I had my Rheumatology appoint canceled as well and was given no date . When i rang up i was told its the 15th September !!! Over a year between appointments . After a few more phone calls i now have one for May 5th .

If you cancel an appointment everyone should be moved alone ,not just the one clinic . But i suppose that would mean too much work . I am losing confidence in St Richards ,which has been known as a good hospital in the past.

I will be contacting my MP and The chief Executive for Western Hospitals Trust as i feel they should all know the state of affairs in our hospitals Karen Baker

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Responses

Response from St Richard's Hospital 7 years ago
St Richard's Hospital

Submitted on 19/05/2016 at 17:39
Published on nhs.uk on 20/05/2016 at 02:30

Dear Karen, We are very sorry that you have had appointments cancelled in both the Orthopaedic and Rheumatology.

We do understand how frustrating and inconvenient it is to have appointments cancelled and more so if it is short notice, or if another appointment is not given.

Unfortunately, there are a range of reasons why appointments are cancelled; usually this is because of annual holiday, staff sickness, and emergencies or more urgent cases being referred, for example where cancer is suspected.

It would be difficult to move everyone along, for the reasons you suggest, and whilst it might be helpful to know the exact reason, it is quicker to use a standardised letter to ensure that patients are informed at the earliest possible convenience.

If you would like to discuss this further, or require any other advice, please contact our PALS office at palschichester@wsht.nhs.uk or ring them on 01243 831822.

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