"I visited the hospital today to attend..."

What I liked

I visited the hospital today to attend an appointment with the dietician at 2pm. I arrived in good time and was asked to be seated in the main waiting area in outpatients.

The first thing I noted was the TV in the corner of the room. I later realised this was a placebo to keep patients 'happy' whilst waiting for their appointments. I found this distracting, loud and totally out of place in a hospital area.

I waited until 2.20pm without anyone informing me as to what was happening. I was told the member of staff was on her way however it was not uncommon for her to be delayed for appointments.

At 2.30pm I again asked what was happening and was told she would be calling me asap.

She arrived at 2.40pm for my appointment.

I explained that I was very unhappy with the service I had received and said that I would have to leave in 10 minutes as this was my lunch break and I had to return to work. I was asked whether I wanted another appointment but I declined saying that I did not want to put myself through this again as I had no confidence I would be seen and dealt with in a timely manner were I to return for a second appointment

I felt that the staff failed to appreciate the fact that my time is also precious to me and that although I appreciate some delay may occur, a 40 minute delay in seeing a member of staff was unacceptable practice.

What could be improved

The attitude of reception staff needs to be improved. They are customer relations workers and should treat everyone with the respect and courtesy they deserve. The attitude that came across to me was that I was an inconvenience to them and that I should just grin and bear it.

When I went to the main reception to ask for a complaint form I was told they did not have any but perhaps they might have some in the outpatients area I had just come from.

These should be freely available for people to be able to access easily - and there should also be complaint forms on the web.

I have never complained about a service I have received in the past, but on this occasion I was very upset by the poor service I received. I wouldn't last long in my job were I disrespectful to my clients and did not perform in a timely and professional manner at all times. I certainly did not feel it unreasonable to expect this of hospital staff !