"Administration and complaints procedure"

An appointment letter for my first CT scan gave me the incorrect time of 4pm, incorrect instructions and no helpful information. I was unaware of what would happen during the procedure.

The day before my due scan I was texted a reminder of an appointment at 3pm. I phoned to check which time was correct and told definitely 4pm. Having turned up for the scan I was told that I was an hour late and showed the appointment letter to an irritated radiologist in proof that I had turned up as requested. It didn't help that it was the last appointment on a Saturday.

The letter had instructed 'do not eat or drink from 2 hours before the appointment' which I followed. Four radiology staff then attempted 8 times to insert a canula without success because I had not been drinking enough fluids. I apparently should have been drinking a lot of water. The CT scan was then carried out without injection of the contrast.

This whole experience has left me with little confidence in the way this hospital is managed. It is not the first time that poor administration has led to my care being compromised - I have previously had an operation cancelled on the day due to mislaid notes, and urgent referrals lost. This time I am left with results that are not reliable and therefore a cause of worry - maybe an area of cancerous growth has not been seen without the use of contrast?

I have absolutely no complaints about the medical care I have received, but I am astounded by how much of their time and patience is wasted along with the additional costs incurred due to less competent support staff. On one occasion I was actually asked by the consultant surgeon to complain.

To add to my dissatisfaction I have not even had an acknowledgement from PALS since I sent them a complaint on 25th August.