Letter of complaint to the hospital

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xX_LittleMissValentine_Xx

xX_LittleMissValentine_Xx

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So, I had an appointment with my GI today.
Actually I didn't. I travelled to my home town (77 miles from my university town) to my hospital appointment for them to tell me it had been moved to next week!
I did not recieve a letter. So I spent the rest of the afternoon writing a letter of complaint. This is not the first time I have suffered from issues with them changing my appointments. My letter has an angry tone (I am angry). But I have focussed the letter solely on issues regarding change of hospital times, and said that I am happy with the care I recieve from the GI department.
This has seriously stressed me out today. Which I have said in my letter will do more harm than good! It just means I have to repeat the whole thing in a week's time. :( eugh! I just don't have time for this! I literally wanna spend every spare second studying!
 
You have every right to be angry! I just wonder if the situation was reversed and you didn't show up for an appointment, would they charge you a fee? Everyone's time has value and it is one of my pet peeves when it is abused! Sorry you have to make the trip again next week!
 
Holly that sucks-totally unacceptable! You should request reimbursement for your travel expense/time away from school. It really irks me how doctors think just because we're sick means we have nothing else to do but wait on them...they know how much we need them so they couldn't care less!:ymad:
 
Hey hon. I recently had a screw up with the hospital as well. I was schedualed 3 weeks in advance for my first remicade infusion and the day before my infusion I got a call saying I wasn't approved for the medicine and she acted like it was my fault. When I called my insurance she told me I wasn't approved because the hospital put in for approval THAT DAY 2 hours before they called me saying I wasn;t approved. Worries me...
 
That is really annoying. Ive had it the other way where they booked me in for an appointment and didnt tell me, luckily I phoned up 3 days before to book an appointment then was told I already had one.

Who are you going to send it to?
 
Totally unacceptable :( I like how in the clinics at the hospitals have those tv screens stating how many people last month did not turn up for their appts but they fail to mention how many they cancelled and pushed back!
 
And the problem with a lot of pushed back appointments is that they are weeks away from the original one...which means you end up seeing the consultant weeks after he/she wanted to se you. I think the consultants get as irritated by it as we do but we are the ones left waiting.
 
That sucks Holly :(.

One would hope that common courtesy would have them alert you in advance of such a change.

Good for you for raising this as an issue. It is not right for you or anyone to ever have to go through that trouble and stress, so hopefully it leads to an improved process going forward.
 
Did they even bother to tell you WHY you weren't notified of the change? I'd be royally pissed too if any of my doctors did that....there is a REASON I make an appointment for a certain time (except for a routine check such as at my GYN.....)....

Don't blame you for writing a letter - did you have your appt in writing (the one you showed up for) - I'd make sure that was mentioned too...
 
Aparently they sent a letter. So either it has been sent to the wrong address, even though I have to confirm my address at each visit, or lost in the post. But to be honest that still isn't good enough. They need to somehow make sure people have had the message.
I have also had it where I didn't get the letter telling me about the appointment so I only knew because I got a text message two days before 'reminding' me.
I have looked up the hospital complaints procedure and they ask complaints get sent to 'the patient relations department'.
I havn't demanded in the letter they compensate for anything, and I don't think they will. I have just shown how it has inconvienenced me and said it must happen to others too. I have suggested they review their policy!
 
I wouldn't expect them to reimburse you for anything but they should at the very least apologise for the inconvenience they have caused you and accept that sending a letter a week before cancelling an appointment is not the best way to do things. Letters can very easily get lost in the post.

If you couldn't make an appointment they would expect you to phone them and in most cases wouldn't find a letter appropriate so why should they think its fine when the roles are reversed? Surely they have your phone number? They have no excuse for not phoning you.
 
Going along with Robbo - I would say a phone call should have been made instead of sending a letter - maybe put it in writing that a phone call is required if an appointment is to be changed?

I personally like to call a few days to a week in advance of an appointment, especially if it was made a while ago - usually just because I'm not sure if I have the right date/time.....
 
The definately have my phone number! I have said in future I expect them to call me. I also mentioned it would not be acceptable for me to not turn up to an appointment without telling them. I think I said something about they should recognise these times are inconvenient to us as well as them.
Once before they called me on the day of my appointment asking me to come earlier, and when I said it was not possible, as I had the distance to travel, they were quite rude to me. Like I was messing them around.
I know sometimes changing appointments cant be helped. But they need deal with it appropriately.
 
Hi Holly,
I've had that happen to me once too, and it was the Royal Berks so it is probably the same place as you, right?
My GI was really angry about it when I told him. Apparently, according to one of the outpatients receptionists, the system doesn't always register changes to appointment times which is ridiculous really.
 
Yeah, its the Royal Berks.
It is rediculus! I just hope my letter will highlight the problem. Chances are the receptionists wouldn't bother to say anything to anyone else. I ended it with: 'I wish to hear from you ensuring me this issue is going to be reviewed or at least considered as part of the essential service you provide'
I've just got back to Bath from Reading today, It was my Mum's birthday yesterday so I stayed for the weekend, and now I have to go back again on friday! So annoying!
Who is your GI Cludia?
 
Do they have registered mail in the UK - signature required on delivery? That would be a system that would at least allow mail to be used - sent out a couple weeks in advance, and a phone call made if they mail is not delivered.

Still, not a very professional approach on the part of the hospital.
 
So, to make matters worse I have been feeling very unwell the last couple of days, my body aches as if I have a virus and have been vomitting. Then I got a text from my mum last night saying the hospital have a norovirus and have had to close four wards!
So who reckons I picked that up on friday?
I am going to see my GP later as I have had to miss uni today, which is assessed work. So I need a doctors note.
Now I don't know if I can make it to my hospital appointment tomorrow!
 
Nooo! You poor thing! I caught Norwalk once (caterer who worked while ill) and it's nasty. Hang in there, whether it's Norovirus or something else.
 
So a good result has come out of my letter!
I got a call from one of the Directors at the hospital! (I cant believe he called me!)
He said to bear with him because he was new to the job (five days in) so wasn't completely certain of admin procedures etc.
He said he would talk to gastroenterology and make sure they only send me letters to my parent's address and that he would try and find out what happened that day. He appologised and said he could see how frustrating it must have been.
He also thanked me for sending the letter because otherwise they wouldnt know about those kind of issues.
And he gave me his number so I could call him if I had any more problems!! So overall I think that was a very good outcome! :)
 
That is great news! So glad to see someone taking an interest in what is going on....all too often these things are just pushed aside.....
 
It's good to hear that an administrator appears to be taking his responsibility seriously.Now lets see what happens next---
handsome is as handsome does.
Good for you Little miss for writing to them.
Feel better soon
Hugs and best wishes
Trysha
 

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