"Late notice of MRI appointment"

I came home from work yesterday to my wife informing me I had an appointment today for an MRI scan. She had received a call from the appointments service asking if I was attending. As they told her I had not yet confirmed I would attend. The problem was the letter had only arrived that day. My wife had to open my mail. She also had to confirm personal medical details about me over the phone. Whilst I personally have no issue with this, this may not be the case with other people. However my wife was left with the choice of me possibly losing the appointment.

More concerning was the lack of notice, again I am fortunate I work close by and could still attend. However I feel that is not the case for everyone. Whilst my knee injury is not trivial to me in comparison to many of the other potential diagnostic reasons for this investigation a missed or rather an unknown appointment may have significant effects for others.

The health service is magnificent the treatment I and my family have received has always been delivered with care to a supreme standard. However this poor notice, the potential for personal questions to be asked over the phone of someone other than the individual and the cost of missed appointments both financially and in potential delayed diagnosis needs to be looked at, particularly if this is a pattern.