After a trip to to have my eyes tested, the optician said that he would contact my GP for him to refer me to the hospital. A letter then came through asking me to Devon Access and Referral Team to arrange an appointment.
I phoned this morning and spoke to a lovely lady, but she informed me that they couldn't arrange an appointment as the GP hadn't sent the letter from the optician as yet. She said she look into it and get back to me.
When DART got back in touch with me to arrange an appointment I was offered one at North Devon District Hospital. I said I didn't want to go there due to bad past experiences, and was told that the next alternative was at Exeter, which is over 75 miles away. This is absolutely crazy - where is the so-called "patient choice" that we are promised?
I want to make it clear that I had no issue with the staff I spoke to, who were all great, but rather with the system itself which is ludicrous. It just seems like another layer of bureaucracy and puts you through so much time and effort to get a hospital appointment - I've spent hours on the phone. I simply won't deal with this system again, I felt it was an inefficient waste of time and money.
"Great staff but ludicrous system"
About: Devon Access and Referral Team (DART) Devon Access and Referral Team (DART) Exeter EX1 1PQ
Posted by keep640 (as ),
Do you have a similar story to tell?
Tell your story & make a difference ››
Responses
See more responses from Susan Pearce