"Too many people booked into the eye clinic?"

I brought my mother (age 91) here to Exeter clinic for a follow up eye appointment. We arrived well in time for a 11.45am appointment, myself having braved the floods between here and Dunsford.

We were told by the very pleasant nurse who did my mother's preliminary readings to expect an hours wait. At some point this changed to 1. 5 hours and so it stayed on the board till 13. 45 when I started to ask how much longer it would be. The nurse then did argue with me about 1. 5 hours being correct when I insisted we'd already been there 2 hours, she had to agree that the waiting time on the board should have been changed, which it then was, to 2 hours 15 mins.

Both the nurse and the receptionists were very helpful and apologetic, which we found helpful and they offered me to be able to call my daughter so that I could warn her that I could not pick up my grandson in time from school.

However more notice should be paid to updating waiting times and ensuring that patients are kept verbally informed of what is going on.

It seems to me that too many people have been booked in to an overstretched service.