"Staff working under too much pressure"

I arrived at the hospital at 7.15 am for a 7.30 am appointment for a day surgery procedure on 25 September 2017. My original time slot (08.40) had been changed following a telephone call from the hospital the preceding Friday.

On arrival I was informed by the ward staff they had no information regarding the earlier time slot and would I like to go home and return later, having spent the previous day preparing for the procedure (liquid diet, laxatives) and anxious , I decided to stay.

After waiting nearly two hours I was told the list could not start due to staff sickness and I would be kept informed but there was a possibility that the list maybe cancelled.

An hour later, out of the blue a nurse came into my room and said get changed for your procedure. The procedure went ahead without any problems.

During my three hour wait

I could hear numerous corridor conversations and discussions going on in the other rooms with patients , the design and layout of the rooms does not support patient confidentiality.

I think the staff are working under a lot of pressure and are doing their best under what appears to be severe staffing shortages and lack of communication between departments.