It’s the sanctimonious attitude the NHS exhibits when you try and find out when will you finally get an appointment, that drives me mad . Have you noticed recently whenever you phone an NHS number, there is an announcement asking us to treat staff with “respect and courtesy”.
The other day I was told that I would have to wait ten months to see a doctor about a painful condition. I was so startled I just screamed “What?” I couldn’t believe it. “If you shout at me, I will terminate this call” I was told. No apology – I was in the wrong.
No wonder patients end up shouting in frustration. I think a startled exclamation is entirely natural, but not in today’s NHS.
Looking on the bright side, have you noticed recently those vast posters in Outpatients, lecturing us about missing appointments have disappeared? Apparently too many patients pointed out that the reason they had missed appointments was because the NHS sent appointment letters too late – they were arriving after the date of the appointment. So the \nhS has taken the posters down, to save face!