"Great doctors but admin system is really..."

Anything else?

I went for an appointment at the gynaecology department and 3 weeks later my GP has not received the follow up letter. I was told on the phone today that the letter has not been written yet and could easily take up to 5 weeks in total as they are very understaffed in this department. I still haven't received a date for my follow up appointment either (I was told at the time that I should receive a appointment date in the post within 2 weeks). The level of organisation leaves a bit to be desired though: My appointment was delayed an hour because the nurse called out patients by their first names only, and someone else who had the same first name as me jumped the queue into my appointment slot. Also I had to wait an extra 20 minutes at after my appointment as my test results were mislaid by the nurse who was supposed to photocopy them for the consultant.

The medical staff are lovely, very thorough and caring, and have better people skills than in other hospitals where I have been to. Doctors were excellent, although they offered me the drug clomid as if it were a bag of sweets that I could eat if I wanted to. It was only when I said I wanted to know if it was appropriate for me that they admitted it probably wouldn't be any use in my case and would likely be counter-productive. I think the doctors feel pressured to offer the one thing that the NHS will pay for as a placebo, because the waiting lists for appropriate treatment are so long and patients get upset if they are not offered something. Do ask questions and don't feel pressured into taking drugs if they are not appropriate for you.

Overall the doctors' care was high quality but the admin is very chaotic.