"Great hospital let down by contractor"

This review is from an administrative, not a clinical, perspective.

(Though for the record, I have only ever experienced first class clinical attention at James Paget Hospital when it has been necessary.)

It seems that the work of contacting patients to remind them of their appointments (how sad that such a thing is necessary) has been contracted out to people who aren't up to it.

Last month I was allocated an ophthalmology appointment at Sole Bay Health Centre, rather than James Paget itself, on 29 January.

This was extremely sensible and welcome, because Reydon is nearer home and more easily accessible for me.

Last night I received a confused and confusing telephone call from the appointments confirmation service, reminding me to attend James Paget for the appointment.

I queried this, explaining that I had been booked into Sole Bay.

The gentleman had never heard of it ("What is Solby?").

In the end, the situation proved too much for him, and he asked me to call a number at James Paget this morning.

I did so, to find that the number he had given me was incorrect (Pain Management).

I eventually spoke to a very helpful and apologetic lady in the Opthalmology Dept, who clarified that my appointment was indeed at Sole Bay.

If the purpose of contracting out is to obtain value for money and/or to maximise available in-house resources, I'm not sure that it's working in this case.

On the contrary: it wasted the valuable time of staff in Pain Management and in Opthalmology, and it was quite clear from what they said that this was a frequently recurring problem.

It also wasted my own time, but I can live with that.

I hope this feedback is helpful, because money is being wasted and confusion caused by a contractor's employees who appear to be either inadequately briefed, or otherwise out of their depth.

Your in-house staff do a fantastic job in very difficult circumstances, and deserve better than to have their lives complicated by the unnecessary failings of outsiders.

Yours more in sorrow than anger.