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Appointment booking

Posted By cds

"Appointment booking"

About: St Mary's Hospital / Gynaecology

(as a service user),

My husband and I have been referred to the trust from our GP for further investigation and treatment of infertility.

I received a letter inviting me to choose an appointment with the service via the choose and book system. I did so, and received an appointment with a date, time, location, and option to "book appointment." 

We arrived at the given location at the time and place booked, having both taken time off work, to be told that we didn't have an "actual appointment." The reception staff explained that this was actually a dummy appointment in order to generate a referral for a "real, face-to-face" appointment. We were offered no apology and were instead told that the staff member could "see how you might be confused." Having been issued with a time, date and location for something entitled "appointment" I absolutely fail to see where I have been confused?

I understand that the running of an infertility clinic is an everyday job for the trust in which many patients are seen, but it is important to remember the sensitive nature of the service. Attending this clinic is not an everyday occurrence for my husband and I who have been trying to conceive for two years. I'm sure you can understand the distress caused after getting up our hopes that today would finally be the day we start getting help to start a family, only to be told that what seems to clearly be an appointment is in fact not, and that I am "confused."

This has caused considerable upset in what is already an emotional process, and could have been completely avoided. 

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Responses

Response from Patient Experience Team, Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust 6 years ago
Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust

Submitted on 18/04/2018 at 08:51
Published on Care Opinion at 10:34

Thank you for your feedback. We were sorry to learn that your experience was not as positive as we would hope in the Department of Reproductive Medicine here at Saint Mary’s Hospital. It is important to us that comments are heard and seen as an opportunity provided to the service to make changes and improvements wherever possible.

In response to your comment, Mrs Jenny Hynes, Operational Manager for Reproductive Medicine has asked me to extend a sincere apology to the you and your partner for the distress and upset this has caused you.

Mrs Hynes has advised me that The INFPREAS (This is the code for the Infertility pre assessment clinic) clinic is a dummy clinic code the department was required to set up for Choose and Book infertility referrals. These appointments do not exist and prior to the 1st April 2018 was how the department received electronic referrals from General Practitioners (GP’s). Mrs Hynes has explained that patients should get a report printed at their GPs or booking centre (where ever the appointment was booked) and on this it tells the patient that they should not attend this appointment and they will receive a further date sent out by the Hospital. Mrs Hynes wishes to apologise that you did not receive this information which led to both you and your partner taking time off work to attend this.

As of 1st April 2018 Choose and Book has been replaced with E-Referral System and this does not have a dummy clinic for GP/Patients to book into; a direct referral is sent to the department and the administration team then arrange to be sent out a welcome letter with instructions regarding the patients next steps and a questionnaire for the patient and partner to complete and return to the department. This means that the problem which you and your partner experienced will not happen again with any other patients who are referred from 1st April 2018.

If you could provide Mrs Hynes with your full details: name, date of birth, address, GP and NHS number then she will ensure that you receive your welcome letter and questionnaire soon. Mrs Hynes can be contacted via email on Jenny.hynes@mft.nhs.uk

It is difficult to respond to all posts in a full way often because of a lack of detailed information, therefore if you would like to discuss your experience with us in more detail, please do not hesitate to contact our Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS) on 0161 276 8686 or by e-mailing pals@cmft.nhs.uk quoting reference number PO18/0020.

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