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Appointments shambolic

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"Appointments shambolic"

About: Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham / Neurology

After waiting over 3 months for a first appointment I have four appointments cancelled. I was not even told the first appointment was cancelled and only found out the day before as I was sent a letter saying I had cancelled the rebooked appointment 2 months later ! I had not cancelled any appointments but was offered one 3 months later than the original. After complaning another was rebooked in 3 weeks time only for that to be cancelled with one days notice. No reason could be given for any of the cancellations other than " they may be on holiday" . How hard is it to only book appointments when someone is not on holiday.

I cant begin to describe the amount of anxiety this has caused. Shocking lack of care for people and utterly shambolic organisation. You should be ashamed for treating people in such a poor manner.

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Responses

Response from Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham 5 years ago
Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham

Submitted on 05/10/2018 at 13:24
Published on nhs.uk at 14:06

Thank you for taking the time to provide feedback about the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. We are sorry to hear the concerns you have regarding your Neurology appointment. Senior staff responsible for Neurology have been made aware of the difficulties you have encountered and are very sorry that this has been your experience.

They have provided details of some of the actions they are taking to address this issue.

1. Recruitment of more administrative staff to improve access for patients trying to contact the service to discuss appointments and other queries

2. Looking at different methods of contact for some enquiries for example whether email is an option

3. Reviewing the capacity in clinics to look at whether there is any scope to offer more appointments which would reduce waiting times

4. The trust is trialling virtual clinics and Neurology are keen to be included in the next set of trials

5. Reviewing how annual leave of consultants is managed and whether this can be improved to reduce the impact on clinic availability

We hope this provides some reassurance that your concerns are being taken seriously and that we are keen to improve the experience of patients such as yourself.

If you would like to discuss your concerns further please make contact via the Patient Advice and Liaison Service (PALS). PALS are here to help and can be contacted by phone 0121 371 4400, by email PALS@uhb.nhs.uk, via the hospital website www.uhb.nhs.uk/pals-form or in person by dropping in between 9am – 5pm (Mon-Fri) to the PALS office located near the Information Desk in the main entrance of the new Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham.

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