""Three strikes and you're out"..."

What I liked

Not applicable

What could be improved

Not applicable

Anything else?

At the start of treatment, I phoned the Physiotherapy Receptionist (01702) 385244 and was permitted to reschedule my randomly allotted postal appointment to one which I could attend. On the second occasion, when I rang to reschedule my routine appointment, I was asked for a reason why I could not attend before I was permitted to reschedule it.

This morning, I rang to reschedule a randomly allotted postal appointment for a new practitioner with the same department. The receptionist pointed out that I had already rescheduled twice during the preceding 6 months and expressed doubt as to whether I was permitted to reschedule a third. They therefore transferred me to the department in question whose receptionist told me it was no problem to reschedule my appointment. I should add that I have never failed to attend an appointment.

I have never before come across a clinic where a patient may only reschedule appointments up to a maximum of twice over the duration of treatment -- which may encompass many years. Therefore, I'll be grateful if you could explain precisely how this policy works and why Southend Hospital’s Department of Rehabilitation considered it necessary to implement it.